How is Engagement Sustained? The Role of Ephemeral Content in Online Radicalization

Abstract

Online radicalization through content has become mainstream. It used to take place on forums like 4chan and Reddit. Now it is part of everyday online life and mainstream social media. Right wing parties in Austria and Germany have won, or are about to win major elections. By analyzing the current literature on engagement, extremism, and radicalization, this thesis identifies key factors that contribute to radicalization on social media. Based on the literature, we use the Design Science Research Method (DSRM) to develop and evaluate a sociotechnical model of the role that ephemeral content plays in the online radicalization process. To evaluate the model, we conducted an interaction study to measure how ephemerality impacts user engagement. In addition, participants filled out the Big Five Inventory personality questionnaire. We also conducted semi-structured interviews following the study. We showed that the level of ephemerality plays a significant role in creating user engagement. The sociotechnical model contributes to the theoretical understanding of how ephemeral content creates engagement, how this related to the risk of radicalization, and has practical implications on how social media platforms are designed.