How comments influence us

Marthe Möller studies how people influence each other through social media. Where usually the content of an online post is the focus point, Möller is interested in the layer underneath: the comments under the post.

According to her research, almost the same rule applies everywhere:

• If you read positive comments, you judge the post more positively.
• If you read negative comments, you look at the post more critically. This effect is even stronger.

Negativity bias: negative information counts more

According to Möller, this is linked to the ‘negativity bias’: negative information weighs more heavily than positive information.

‘If you see danger, a problem or a challenge – for example, a big bear standing in front of you – you have to act immediately: run away or protect yourself. A nice opportunity, like a tasty apple in a tree, can usually wait a bit. It will still be there later. That feels less urgent.’

Möller confirmed this with an experiment: people watched a YouTube video that sometimes had mostly positive, sometimes mostly negative and sometimes mixed comments in the comment section. What did she find out? People looked longer and more often at the negative comments. They liked the video less when there were a lot of negative comments underneath.

From reaction to action

Positive and negative comments always have an impact. But how that influence shows itself depends strongly on the type of content – whether it is news, entertainment or campaigns.

Möller studied a video by Arjen Lubach about political malpractices in the clothing industry. The message of that video was to think about every purchase you make. When people saw positive comments under this video, they felt more moved by it. But more importantly: they were more willing to do something, such as boycotting a brand or supporting a campaign.

Comments also matter in health campaigns. Möller mentions an anti smoking video as an example: when there are a lot of positive comments underneath, people see the campaign as more effective and are more likely to believe that others will also take action because of it.

Timing shapes experience

It is not only what you read that matters, but also when you read the comments. In an experiment, Möller divided people into two groups:

• Group A read the comments first and then watched a video.
• Group B watched the video first and then read the comments.

While watching, participants continuously indicated how much they were enjoying it at that moment. What did she find?

For people who read the comments first, their viewing experience changed: positive comments made the video more enjoyable, negative comments made it less enjoyable.

People who first watched the video and then read the comments, adjusted their judgement afterwards. They changed the pleasure score to a score that matched the comments under the video more closely.

‘Their memory was reshaped so that it fitted better with “the group”. We adjust not only how we experience something because of other people’s comments, but also how we talk about it later. That way, we do not fall outside the group,’ Möller concludes.

The power of the algorithm

When we see comments, the algorithm also plays a major role. In the past, you often saw the most recent comments first. These days, you usually get comments filtered as ‘most relevant’ or ‘for you’ under a post.

‘Platforms want you to stay on them for as long as possible,’ Möller explains. ‘That is how they make money. Although no platform clearly explains what “most relevant” actually means, it strongly looks as if they mainly show comments that trigger a lot of new reactions.’

Online comments as public opinion

Social media platforms therefore decide not only which news posts you see, but also which comments you see underneath. Möller says:

‘When Parliament talks about social media, it is almost always about the posts, not about the comments. That is worrying, because the influence of platforms is greater than we think: they influence both the content and what we see as “normal” behaviour in the comments.’

According to her, users are often unaware of this.

‘Many people easily take over the tone of the comments as “public opinion”, as if that is what everyone thinks.’

Support and guidance

Still, Möller does not see only risks. Online comments can also offer people support and guidance.

‘The comments under a post can be a place where people find each other, feel connected and together make sense of what they see. They do not just make people laugh, but also create space to reflect on themes that you find important.’

Do not underestimate your own influence

That is exactly why Möller thinks it is important that we take comments on social media seriously and do not just ignore them. Her message is clear: do not underestimate your own influence.

‘Every reaction you post under a news item is a small part of the glasses which others use to look at the news. Platforms are completely dependent on users for content, so post content that does something meaningful. You are not just a reader of the news, you help to shape it.’

About Marthe Möller

Dr Marthe Möller is a University Lecturer in Entertainment Communication at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). In her work, Marthe studies how the use of social media can strengthen feelings of connection.

She does this in two ways:

• by researching which psychological mechanisms are involved and when people do or do not feel connected to others when they use social media
• by studying how artificial intelligence, and especially machine learning, can be used by researchers to study this topic