Online conversations tend to get worse over time. A group of researchers set out to understand why by analysing over two billion comments posted across 2,150 Reddit communities.
The most obvious explanation is the one we've grown used to: platforms reward content that generates reactions, and anger generates attention. But the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identifies a different mechanism.
We want to stand out from everyone else. And to do that, sometimes, we become more negative.
The researchers observed that in communities that start out positive, the tone tends to deteriorate over time. When many users have already expressed the most obvious positive opinions, adding another one means risking repeating something that's already been said. A criticism, on the other hand, has a better chance of feeling new.
Negativity simply offers more ways to stand out.
To check that this wasn't just a quirk of Reddit, the researchers also ran a series of experiments. When people were asked to come up with a response that would distinguish itself from the others, they tended to produce more negative comments even without receiving any incentive to be critical.
The effect was particularly pronounced when the starting conversation was positive. A negative opinion, in that context, isn't just different in content: it also breaks the norm established by the other participants.
This doesn't mean algorithms bear no responsibility for spreading anger, outrage, and conflict. It means they may not be necessary to produce part of the phenomenon.
Even a perfectly neutral platform would continue to host people seeking attention, recognition, and a way to avoid saying exactly what everyone else has already said.
The more crowded a conversation becomes, the harder it is to add something new.
Saying everything is fine is easy.
Being the first to say something is wrong is even easier.
