Breaking Bad: Sadistic Online Communities

In the paper “Why Online Consumption Communities Brutalize,” Marius Lüdicke, together with an international team of researchers, addresses the question of how some online communities turn from open discussion spaces into hostile environments and what mechanisms underlie these dynamics, referred to as “brutalization”. The authors identified three different dynamics that cause some digital communities, including cooking and parenting forums, to descend into insults, hostility, or structural violence.

In the new MORe episode, Marius Lüdicke explains the dynamics that can trigger and drive brutalization. He talks about the influence of social media and online communities on our society and how to respond to communities that are becoming toxic. In his interview, Marius also shares some personal glimpses into his views on social media, his deep passion for music and some of his favorite spots on the WU campus.