Digital offense: Anonymity dulls our moral outrage
Monday, November 19, 2018 - 16:30
in Psychology & Sociology
From online forums to community groups, research and experience shows people are more willing to insult and use menacing language online than in person, especially when there's the protection of anonymity behind a computer. New research appearing in Social Psychological and Personality Science indicates that people react less strongly to malicious speech on digital platforms and see the victims as less "harmed" than if the words were said directly to a person.