Open AccessThe “Nasty Effect:” Online Incivility and Risk Perceptions of Emerging Technologies
Author(s) -
Anderson Ashley A.,
Brossard Dominique,
Scheufele Dietram A.,
Xenos Michael A.,
Ladwig Peter
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of computer‐mediated communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.15
H-Index - 119
ISSN - 1083-6101
DOI - 10.1111/jcc4.12009
Subject(s) - incivility , perception , religiosity , rhetoric , population , sample (material) , risk perception , new media , social psychology , psychology , political science , sociology , public relations , media studies , law , physics , neuroscience , linguistics , philosophy , demography , thermodynamics
Uncivil discourse is a growing concern in American rhetoric, and this trend has expanded beyond traditional media to online sources, such as audience comments. Using an experiment given to a sample representative of the U.S. population, we examine the effects online incivility on perceptions toward a particular issue—namely, an emerging technology, nanotechnology. We found that exposure to uncivil blog comments can polarize risk perceptions of nanotechnology along the lines of religiosity and issue support .