ABSTRACT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, use of social networking sites (SNSs) surged in many countries, including the United States. This content analysis of a convenience sample of English language conversations examined how users sought and provided social support on three Western-dominated SNSs, Reddit (N = 100), YouTube (N = 100), and Facebook (N = 100), during the week following the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic. In addition to analyzing social support, this study examined aggressive communication, which often leads to undesirable mental health outcomes, on Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook during this period. According to the Social Identity Model of Individuation Effects (SIDE), anonymous environments which codify civil communication norms are more likely to yield prosocial behavior. Results indicate that Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook varied significantly in supportive and aggressive communication prevalence. Reddit users more frequently provided social support than did YouTube and Facebook users. Additionally, Reddit users engaged in aggressive communication significantly less than both YouTube and Facebook users. These findings support predictions from the SIDE model, as Reddit both offers users greater anonymity than YouTube and Facebook and codifies supportive, civil communication norms in a rules system called, “Reddiquette.”

摘要

在 COVID-19 大流行期间，包括美国在内的许多国家对社交网站 (SNS) 的使用激增。这项对英语对话便利样本的内容分析检查了用户如何在三个西方主导的 SNS、Reddit ( N = 100)、YouTube ( N = 100) 和 Facebook ( N= 100)，在宣布 COVID-19 为大流行病后的一周内。除了分析社会支持外，本研究还检查了这一时期在 Reddit、YouTube 和 Facebook 上的积极沟通，这通常会导致不良的心理健康结果。根据个体化效应的社会认同模型 (SIDE)，编纂公民交流规范的匿名环境更有可能产生亲社会行为。结果表明，Reddit、YouTube 和 Facebook 在支持性和攻击性交流流行度方面存在显着差异。Reddit 用户比 YouTube 和 Facebook 用户更频繁地提供社交支持。此外，与 YouTube 和 Facebook 用户相比，Reddit 用户参与积极交流的次数要少得多。这些发现支持 SIDE 模型的预测，