Disconnected Online: A social psychological examination of online hate

Social media provides users with advanced opportunities for social interaction and extended social networks. Parallel to this, however, are emerging virtual forms of victimization and offending. One example of this is online hate, which refers to online communication that threatens or degrades an individual or a social group. This dissertation examines how online hate offending and victimization are related to social relations among adolescents and young adults, both online and offline. Moreover, it analyzes how online hate is associated with social capital embedded in online and offline social networks and online group behavior. This dissertation consists of five separate studies examining online hate offending, victimization, and exposure. Studies were conducted among Finnish young people but also in cross-national context involving Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. According to the results of these studies, online hate is related to online and offline social relations but in different ways. Both online hate offending and victimization were positively associated with social capital in online environment. In addition, online group behavior was associated with an increased likelihood of online hate offending. Offline social capital, in turn, associated with a lower risk of being an agent or victim of online hate offending. And furthermore, strong connection to offline social networks buffered the harmful consequences of victimization due to online offending. Online hate also reflects social tensions deriving from the wider societal condition. Thus, the results of this dissertation imply that social media has potential to both connect and disconnect individuals. Those online users with strongest connections to their online social networks are also most likely to be involved in online conflicts. Social media can also accentuate inter-group conflicts and distinctions in the society.