Unravelling the dynamics of incivility on social networking sites: the role of malicious envy
通过14周日记研究，发现恶意嫉妒情绪会动态影响用户在社交网站上的不文明行为，且社交媒体素养和他人不文明行为分别起到缓冲和放大作用。
Incivility, defined as disrespectful or hostile online communication that stops short of overt cyberaggression, is a common phenomenon on Social Networking Sites (SNSs). Prior research has largely attributed this phenomenon to static technological affordances (e.g. anonymity) and user characteristics such as personality traits and demographics. Yet, the role of transient emotional states as dynamic, situational antecedents of incivility remains underexplored. In this study, we introduce the concept of dynamic incivility and investigate how momentary experiences of malicious envy, a hostile, social comparison-driven emotion, relates to incivility on SNSs. Using a 14-week repeated-measures diary design, we uncover a robust within-person effect: individuals are more likely to engage in incivility during weeks when they experience heightened malicious envy. We also identify two contextual moderators: social media literacy (as a person-level buffer) and exposure to others’ incivility (as a situational amplifier). Our findings move beyond trait-based models of online deviance to demonstrate that incivility fluctuates with emotional states, varies by context, and is amenable to targeted intervention. We conclude by outlining practical implications for designing user-facing tools and educational strategies to curb the issue of incivility on SNSs.