The Online Disinhibition Effect

By John Suler. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 2004

4,332 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Sociology and Political Science, Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c70aae3be9d370ca1520db5edb2b326e3c2f91b0

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Citations in the corpus

Higher education scholars' participation and practices on Twitter (2012, background): “The authors also found evidence of discussion ‘hijacking’ and rude commentary, which is not an unusual phenomenon in online discussions, especially given the anonymous nature of the contributions (cf. Suler 2004).”
Understanding the relationship between experiencing workplace cyberbullying, employee mental strain and job satisfaction: a dysempowerment approach (2017, background): “Furthermore, the remote nature of cyberbullying means the perpetrator is potentially less aware of the target’s reaction which may lead to a reduction in empathy (Slonje & Smith, 2008) or an increase in the aggressive nature of the acts (Suler, 2004).”
Online Social Networking and Addiction—A Review of the Psychological Literature (2011, background): “Given that people tend to be disinhibited when they are online [72], giving and receiving negative feedback may be more common”
4chan and /b/: An Analysis of Anonymity and Ephemerality in a Large Online Community (2011, background): “The usual narrative around anonymity suggests that communities benefit by revealing participants' names and reputations (Millen and Patterson 2003), and that anonymity will be a negative influence due to the " online disinhibition effect " (Suler 2005).”
Citizens Versus the Internet: Confronting Digital Challenges With Cognitive Tools (2019, background): “Online disinhibition can be both benign and toxic (Suler, 2004): It can inspire acts of generosity and help shy people socialize, but it can also lead to increased incivility in online conversations—as behavior “that can range from aggressive commenting in threads, incensed discussion and rude criti”
Extended Self in a Digital World (2013, background): “Suler (2004) explains: “What others know or don’t know about me is not always clear. . . .”
Misinformation sharing and social media fatigue during COVID-19: An affordance and cognitive load perspective (2020, positive): “When the individuals’ reputation is on the line, they are no longer under the influence of the online disinhibition effect (Suler, 2004) and are more mindful of what they are sharing.”
A Comparison of Classification Approaches for Cyberbullying and Traditional Bullying Using Data From Six European Countries (2015, background): “For example, the online disinhibition effect which describes the phenomena of people sharing more information online or acting out more intensely than they would in real life (Suler, 2004) is facilitated by anonymity, invisibility and status equalization, among others.”
Political Polarization on the Digital Sphere: A Cross-platform, Over-time Analysis of Interactional, Positional, and Affective Polarization on Social Media (2020, background): “Suler (2004) documented a general “online disinhibition effect,” wherein the perceived social distance from other participants reduces users’ reliance on civil and constructive conversational norms.”
Sexual Harassment on the Internet (2005, background): “Specifically, it may be argued that the online disinhibition effect (Joinson, 1998, 1999, 2001; Suler, 2004) that promotes exposure of the so-called true self (McKenna & Seidman, in press), on one hand, and the special features of computer-mediated communication, on the other, produce human…”
Video Game Structural Characteristics: A New Psychological Taxonomy (2009, background): “Suler (2004) has argued that individuals are more likely to self-disclose or act out more intensely when online because online settings are highly disinhibiting.”