It’s not just bad behavior – why social media design makes it hard to have constructive disagreements online

Illustration: Amanda Baughan, PhD Student in Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington · Apps. CC BY-ND. Article by Amanda Baughan. The Conversation – July 7, 2021.

Good-faith disagreements are a normal part of society and building strong relationships. Yet it’s difficult to engage in good-faith disagreements on the internet, and people reach less common ground online compared with face-to-face disagreements.

There’s no shortage of research about the psychology of arguing online, from text versus voice to how anyone can become a troll and advice about how to argue well. But there’s another factor that’s often overlooked: the design of social media itself.

My colleagues and I investigated how the design of social media affects online disagreements and how to design for constructive arguments.  […]

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