Diplomacy online: A case of mistaking broadcasting for dialogue

Carla Anne Roos*, Sonja Utz, Namkje Koudenburg, Tom Postmes

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Online discussions can fuel perceptions of misalignment, disagreement, conflict or even polarization. In this study, we look at everyday diplomatic expressions that could buffer this. We use automated and manual coding to analyze diplomatic behaviour in online discussions and its consequences for discussion sentiment. We analyze Reddit forums with differing norms: civil (N = 4594 comments), incivil (N = 2126) and social support subreddits (N = 1401). The automated content analysis shows that diplomatic behaviour occurs but does not affect the subsequent discussion. The manual analysis reveals why: discussions consist of disjointed statements rather than dialogue, making diplomacy inconsequential. These results have consequences for the field. First, what appears to be an escalating dialogue might actually be a string of personal attitudes broadcasted in a shared space. Second, the usefulness of automated content analysis in studying interaction dynamics is limited because of difficulties distinguishing broadcasting from dialogue.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)314-331
Number of pages18
JournalEuropean Journal of Social Psychology
Early online dateNov 2023
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - Nov 2023

Keywords

  • automated content analysis
  • broadcasting
  • dialogue
  • diplomacy
  • manual analysis
  • online discussion
  • online polarization
  • social media

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