Roots of Incivility: How Personality, Media Use, and Online Experiences Shape Uncivil Participation

Online media offer unprecedented access to digital public spheres, largely enhancing users’ opportunities for participation and providing new means strengthening democratic discourse. At the same time, last decades have demonstrated that online discourses are often characterised by so-called ‘dark participation’ spreading of lies incivility. Using ‘problematic behaviour theory’ as framework focusing on incivility a specific form dark participation, this article investigates role personal characteristics, use, experiences in relation offensive hateful behaviour. random-quota survey German population, we explored how personality traits, political attitudes emotions, frequency spaces online-media with both civil uncivil predicted participants own behaviour, such posting, sharing, or liking content. We found 46% who had witnessed three months also engaged participation. A hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed was associated manipulative traits measured triad, right-wing populist voting intentions, frequent social-media use. Experiences comments hate speech higher levels The strongest predictor participants’ victimisation. Overall, results confirmed sense engagement from interplay an environment allows deviant engagement, and, most importantly, said environment.