Online flaming has garnered significant attention as a global social issue. However, most research primarily focuses on the mechanisms and social impact of flaming. Still, the characteristics of those who participate in online flaming are not yet fully understood. To fill this gap, we conducted a large-scale survey in Japan with 21,053 participants. The results revealed nearly 30% had engaged in some form of online flaming activity, such as posting negative comments about others, liking or retweeting flaming content, or following related accounts that regularly post inflammatory messages. In terms of demographics, among participants who engaged in flaming, 50% were between the ages of 29 and 46, 57% were male, 51% held full-time jobs, 54% had a university degree or higher, and 42% had a total household income below the Japanese average. At the same time, we measured the participants' subjective social status (i.e., individuals’ perception of where they stand in the hierarchical structure of society) because prior research indicated that individuals’ subjective social status can influence their aggressive or unethical behavior. We found that individuals with higher subjective social status were more likely to participate in flaming incidents than those with lower subjective social status. These new findings help us understand the profile of flaming participants and serves as a basis for gaining deeper insights into their psychological states. They also contribute to efforts aimed at mitigating this social issue.

Authors:
Zhixian Lian, Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Xue Duo, Ritsumeikan University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
LIANZHIXIAN is a Ph.D. student at Ritsumeikan University. LIANZHIXIAN's primary research interests include media psychology, online flaming (or "enjo"), and social status.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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