Browsing by Author "Costello, Matthew"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Defending Others Online: The Influence of Observing Formal and Informal Social Control on One's Willingness to Defend Cyberhate Victims
    Costello, Matthew; Hawdon, James E.; Reichelmann, Ashley V.; Oksanen, Atte; Blaya, Catherine; Llorent, Vicente J.; Räsänen, Pekka; Zych, Izabela (MDPI, 2023-08-02)
    This paper examines factors correlated with online self-help—an informal form of social control vis-à-vis intervention—upon witnessing a cyberhate attack. Using online surveys from 18- to 26-year-old respondents in the United States, we explore the roles of various types of online and offline formal and informal social control mechanisms on the enactment of self-help through the use of descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression. The results of the multivariate analyses indicate that online collective efficacy is positively related to self-help, as is having close ties to individuals and groups offline and online. Formal online social control, however, is not significantly related to engaging in self-help. Other findings demonstrate that personal encounters with cyberhate affect the likelihood that an individual will intervene when witnessing an attack, and that individuals with high levels of empathy are more likely to intervene to assist others. This work indicates that pro-social online behavior is contagious and can potentially foster online spaces in which harmful behaviors, such as propagating cyberhate, are not condoned.
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    Factors Associated with Online Hate Acceptance: A Cross-National Six-Country Study among Young Adults
    Celuch, Magdalena; Oksanen, Atte; Räsänen, Pekka; Costello, Matthew; Blaya, Catherine; Zych, Izabela; Llorent, Vicente J.; Reichelmann, Ashley V.; Hawdon, James E. (MDPI, 2022-01-04)
    The Internet, specifically social media, is among the most common settings where young people encounter hate speech. Understanding their attitudes toward the phenomenon is crucial for combatting it because acceptance of such content could contribute to furthering the spread of hate speech as well as ideology contamination. The present study, theoretically grounded in the General Aggression Model (GAM), investigates factors associated with online hate acceptance among young adults. We collected survey data from participants aged 18–26 from six countries: Finland (n = 483), France (n = 907), Poland (n = 738), Spain (n = 739), the United Kingdom (n = 959), and the United States (n = 1052). Results based on linear regression modeling showed that acceptance of online hate was strongly associated with acceptance of violence in all samples. In addition, participants who admitted to producing online hate reported higher levels of acceptance of it. Moreover, association with social dominance orientation was found in most of the samples. Other sample-specific significant factors included participants’ experiences with the Internet and online hate, as well as empathy and institutional trust levels. Significant differences in online hate acceptance levels and the strength of its connections to individual factors were found between the countries. These results provide important insights into the phenomenon, demonstrating that online hate acceptance is part of a larger belief system and is influenced by cultural background, and, therefore, it cannot be analyzed or combatted in isolation from these factors.
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    Hate and hate crimes in society
    Hawdon, James E.; Costello, Matthew (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024-10-17)
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    Hate Knows No Boundaries: Online Hate in Six Nations
    Reichelmann, Ashley V.; Hawdon, James E.; Costello, Matthew; Ryan, John; Blaya, Catherine; Llorent, Vicente J.; Oksanen, Atte; Räsänen, Pekka; Zych, Izabela (Taylor & Francis, 2020-01-31)
    This paper examines cross-national commonalities and differences in online hate speech content, exposure, and emotional reaction. Using online surveys from 18 to 25-year-old respondents in six countries, we find a majority of respondents were exposed to online hate in the preceding 3 months. Commonalities across countries are the platform where the respondents were exposed and how they arrived at such content. Unique national cultures of hate speech also exist, including the common targets and respondents’ emotional reactions. A majority of respondents report feeling angry, sad, or ashamed, but most worrisome may be the substantial numbers who report feelings of hatred or pride after seeing online hate. Given the potential for repeated exposure and the recent increase in hate crimes in the US. and Europe, this finding should serve as a reminder of the dangers of online hate and its potential link to offline violence.
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    Viewing anti-immigrant hate online: An application of routine activity and Social Structure-Social Learning Theory
    Costello, Matthew; Restifo, Salvatore J.; Hawdon, James E. (Pergamon-Elsevier, 2021-11-01)
    The increasingly prominent role of the Internet in the lives of Americans has resulted in more people coming into contact with various types of online content, including online hate material. One of the most common forms of online hate targets immigrants, seeking to position immigrants as threats to personal, national, economic, and cultural security. Given the recent rise in online hate targeting immigrants, this study examines factors that bring individuals into virtual contact with such material. Utilizing recently collected online survey data of American youth and young adults, we draw on insights from Routine Activity Theory and Social Structure-Social Learning Theory to understand exposure to anti-immigrant online hate material. Specifically, we consider how online routines, location in social structure, and social identity are associated with exposure. Results indicate that engaging in behaviors that can increase proximity to motivated offenders increases the likelihood of being exposed to anti-immigrant hate, as does engaging in online behaviors that bolster one’s target suitability. Additionally, individuals who view Americanism as fundamental to their social identity are more apt to encounter anti-immigrant hate material on the Internet, as are those who are more dissatisfied with the current direction of the country.
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    Virtually Standing Up or Standing By? Correlates of Enacting Social Control Online
    Costello, Matthew; Hawdon, James E.; Cross, Amanda (2017-11-01)
    Research has consistently established the robustness of the bystander effect, or the tendency of individuals to not intervene on behalf of others in emergency situations. This study examines the bystander effect in an online setting, focusing on factors that lead individuals to intervene, and therefore enact informal social control, on behalf of others who are being targeted by hate material. To address this question, we use an online survey (N=647) of youth and young adults recruited from a demographically balanced sample of Americans. Results demonstrate that the enactment of social control is positively affected by the existence of strong offline and online social bonds, collective efficacy, prior victimization, self-esteem, and an aversion for the hate material in question. Additionally, the amount of time that individuals spend online affects their likelihood of intervention. These findings provide important insights into the processes that underlie informal social control and begin to bridge the gap in knowledge between social control in the physical and virtual realms.