Journal
NEW MEDIA & SOCIETY
Volume 20, Issue 12, Pages 4512-4532Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/1461444818776629
Keywords
Abortion; fear of isolation; online anonymity; online news comments; online social support; opinion expression; Spiral of Silence
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This study examines the effects of online anonymity and different sources of social influence on the Spiral of Silence phenomenon in online news discussions about abortion. The results (N = 339) substantiated that technical anonymity predicts one's perceived anonymity, but only the latter significantly increases one's willingness to post personal opinions in the comment sections. Perceived support from other commenters was also found to reduce the online Spiral of Silence phenomenon. With fear of isolation, moreover, the state-based approach is verified to be more robust than the trait-like approach, advancing Noelle-Neumann's original conceptualization. Study findings thus offer support for a more comprehensive conceptualization of Spiral of Silence components operating in online contexts.
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