Online Social Aggression

Abstract

Abstract This chapter examines the emotional experiences associated with a broad range of online aggressive behaviors. The authors begin by conceptualizing online social aggression (OSA) and providing an organizational framework for types of OSA including cyberbullying, online harassment, online incivility, online sexual harassment, online hate speech, online shaming, cyberstalking, digital dating abuse, flaming, trolling, griefing, doxing, and image-based sexual abuse (i.e., “revenge porn”). They explain how technology affordances, such as anonymity, visibility, and social presence, distinguish OSA from aggression in other environments. They discuss relevant theoretical models, including the social identity model of deindividuation effects and the online disinhibition effect. They then review research on emotions in OSA considering perpetrators, targets, and observers (e.g., anger, frustration, jealousy, envy, fear, disgust, sadness, loneliness, amusement, and boredom). After discussing methodological challenges of studying OSA and describing some interventions, they conclude with suggestions for future research.