Online News Discussions

Abstract

This study examines personality traits and motivations in association with individuals’ online news comment behavior. A survey of 517 participants indicated that those who were more agreeable and narcissistic were motivated for posting comments on online news. Motivations including informing, getting feedback, and exhibitionism predicted the frequency of posting on news comment sections, while social connection was a major predictor of commenting on the news shared in social media. Implications for using this online opinion-posting mechanism are discussed.

Keywords

online news comments personality traits motivation user-generated content online news discussions online posting behavior

The idea of a “public sphere” depicts a public discursive place that allows individuals to exchange their viewpoints as well as engage in rational debates on social problems (Habermas, 1989). Traditional mass media have been criticized for inadequately functioning in this role, given their deference to the interests of specific socio-economic groups and unequal accessibility for audience members (e.g., Garnham, 1992). Online communication, however, may rejuvenate the democratic process, as cyberspace provides more opportunities for progressive opinions quelled in the traditional media outlets to be voiced (J. Armstrong & Zuniga, 2006). Moreover, the interactive features of Web 2.0 provide users a reduced threshold for interaction and participation, fostering a digital public sphere that garners extensive scholarly exaltation (e.g., Guth & Thomas, 2010; Rasmussen, 2013).

Online news discussions thus help define the evolving digital public sphere. One such emerging forum involves posting personal comments to news articles. For instance, readers are allowed to address their thoughts and opinions on the comment section attached to individual online news reports in online news media (e.g., Washingtonpost.com) and portal websites’ news services such as Yahoo! News. Similar to “letters to the editors” in traditional newspapers, these online reader comments encourage user participation in the news process (Loke, 2013). In 2010, 25% of Internet users reported that they had commented on an online news story or a blog article about news (Purcell, Rainie, Mitchell, Rosenstiel, & Olmstead, 2010). Given the greater levels of individual anonymity and lighter editorial gate-keeping process in cyberspace, this type of user-generated content affords greater freedom and equality for opinion expression (Reader, 2012). For example, in their analysis of a racist event, McCluskey and Hmielowski (2011) found that the online comments showed more balance in their range and tone of opinion than did traditional letters.

In addition, online news comments may also be posted on social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook and Twitter. A recent study reveals that these two SNS platforms have become a source of news for the majority (63%) of users (Pew Research Center, 2015). This study also indicates that nearly 30% of Facebook users post comments on the news regarding government and politics, while almost 15% of Twitter users reply to other user tweets on the same topics. Given that one’s social media contacts (e.g., Facebook “friends”) overlap with their offline networks (Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, Lenhart, & Madden, 2015), these online news discussions are more likely to occur between acquaintances—in contrast to online news comment sections—where the commenters and readers are usually unknown to each other.

Research addressing online news comments suggests that anonymous and uncensored conversational spaces can be hotbeds for prejudice (e.g., Loke, 2013).¹ Although extant work has identified major content features of user-generated news comments (e.g., Douai & Nofal, 2012; Loke, 2013; McCluskey & Hmielowski, 2011), the characteristics of those commenters engaged in web news discussions remain unclear. The present study thus offers an integrative approach—including user personality traits and motivations—of individuals who post on news commentary sections and SNSs. And although several discourse analyses have addressed user comments (e.g., Douai & Nofal, 2012; Erjavec & Kovačič, 2012), an investigation of user intentions can help shed light on why they offer commentary.

A Framework for Understanding Online Uses and Gratifications (U&G)

The U&G perspective provides a comprehensive framework for the examination of media use by focusing on the individual characteristics and motivations of media audiences. U&G suggests that media use is based on the societal or psychological needs of individual communicators. Audiences are thus not passively impacted by media but are relatively active in using media, and feel gratified by such usage (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1973; Rubin, 2009). Researchers (e.g., Hollenbaugh, 2011; Papacharissi & Rubin, 2000; Quan-Haase & Young, 2010; Rosengren, 1974) have identified characteristic motivations for using specific media modalities in U&G studies. Moreover, psychological factors such as personality traits also influence one’s expectation for a given type of media or media content that later affect their decision of use (Rubin, 2009)

Individuals engaged in online communication are more commonly called the “users,” which is closer to the “active audience” concept that the U&G model proposes. Although U&G is primarily applied to study mass media and the audience, scholars have extended this perspective to examinations of computer-mediated communication (Sundar & Limperos, 2013), such as chat-rooms, instant messaging (IM), email (e.g., Pornsakulvanich, Haridakis, & Rubin, 2008), and online profile use (e.g., Vrocharidou & Efthymiou, 2012). Because a variety of online communication tools and applications are available for users to adopt in accordance with their needs and preferences, it is useful to apply the U&G model to explore individuals’ personality traits and motivations for posting comments about online news articles.

Personalities and User Motivations

The U&G approach conceptualizes social and psychological factors, including personality characteristics (e.g., Finn, 1997; Ross et al., 2009). The Five Factor (“big five”) Model (FFM)—consisting of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience (McCrae & John, 1992; Norman, 1963)²—helps explain the user motivations for and their actual use of media, including television (e.g., Galauner, Pettey, Beatty, Rudd, & Atkin, 2011), mobile phones (e.g., Butt & Phillips, 2008), online gaming (e.g., Graham & Gosling, 2013), and Facebook (Hunt, Atkin, & Krishnan, 2012; Ross et al., 2009). For example, Graham and Gosling (2013) found that gamers who are more extraverted, agreeable, neurotic, and open to experience express greater motivation for social connection, while those with greater achievement motivation also score higher on extraversion and neuroticism but lower on agreeableness and conscientiousness. These findings demonstrate that a higher level of a given personality trait may presuppose more than one motivation for media use, and a higher level of a given motivation may be driven by multiple types of personalities.

As posting comments on online news stories promotes opinion expression, it is useful to consider research on the media serving similar applications, such as blogging. Wang, Lin, and Liao (2012), for instance, reveal that Taiwanese bloggers who were highly extraverted, agreeable, or conscientious expressed a higher perceived enjoyment of blogging, which in turn significantly influenced their blogging intention. Krishnan and Atkin’s (2014) study on SNSs activities also points out that extraversion significantly predicts the motivation of infotainment, suggesting that the extraverts tend to be more engaged in using SNSs for both information seeking and socialization. Openness to new experience, however, failed to predict any of the motivations.

In addition to the big five traits, the relationship between narcissism and social media use also draws scholarly attention. Narcissism is defined as a “grandiose sense of self-importance” (Raskin & Hall, 1979, p. 590). Leung (2013) explored the relationships between social media users’ level of narcissism, their motives in generating contents via social media, and the frequency of content generation. He found that individuals who are more narcissistic—in the dimension of exhibitionism—generated more content on Facebook, blogs, and online forums. In particular, those narcissists scoring higher in exhibitionism showed positive correlations with such motives as social/affective needs, venting negative feelings, recognition needs, and entertainment. Krishnan and Atkin (2014) also found that the narcissistic attribute of vanity was positively correlated with the motive of social conformity. They argued that narcissists—who score relatively high in vanity—are more likely to seek social validation, and SNSs provide them with immediate and multitudinous contacts to fulfill such goals. Moreover Weiser (2015) found that the narcissistic quality of attention seeking (exhibitionism)—alongside perceptions of authority and dominance (authority)—positively predict “selfie” posting frequency. Taken together, these results demonstrate that individuals with higher levels of narcissism tend to project self-importance to others in online activities, especially those who promote user-generated content. As a prevailing modality for online news discussions, posting comments on news stories may also be a strategy for narcissists to broadcast their personal thoughts and opinions.

Recapping the relationship between individual personalities and motivations, extraversion is a predictor of a variety of motivations for online media use (e.g., Graham & Gosling, 2013; Wang et al., 2012). Moreover, narcissism has also been identified as a predictor of motivations related to self-expression, such as exhibitionism. We assume that individuals who are more extraverted would be more intent on expressing themselves in variegated domains, including the platforms for online news comments. Similarly, the narcissistic tendencies that encourage greater social media expression generally (e.g., Krishnan & Atkin, 2014) should also encourage greater exhibitionism via commenting on news stories. Therefore, based on the theoretical dynamics and findings outlined above, this study posits the following:

H1: Level of extraversion will positively predict motivations to comment on online news.

H2: Level of narcissism will positively predict the level of exhibitionism motivation to comment on online news.

Extraversion aside, the remaining big five personality traits—openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism—do not indicate consistent relationships with motivations for online media use (e.g., Hunt et al., 2012; Hunt & Langstedt, 2014; Krishnan & Atkin, 2014; Leung, 2013). In a case of contradictory influence, Neuroticism has been a predictor of general social media use (Correa, Hinsley, & de Zuniga, 2010), Internet use (Amichai-Hamburger, Wainpel, & Fox, 2002), and blogging (Gill, Nowson, & Oberlander, 2009). But the trait negatively predicts posting behaviors on social media (Hunt & Langstedt, 2014), perhaps because neurotics avoid situations that create anxiety (McCrae & Costa, 1990). Given these countervailing influences, we pose the following research questions:

RQ1: What is the relationship between openness and motivations to comment on online news?

RQ2: What is the relationship between conscientiousness and motivations to comment on online news?

RQ3: What is the relationship between agreeableness and motivations to comment on online news?

RQ4: What is the relationship between neuroticism and motivations to comment on online news?

Motivations and Media Use

Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) argue that motivations represent the general dispositions that drive individuals to take actions to fulfill a need. Scholars (Blumler, 1979; Katz, Gurevitch, & Haas, 1973) identified several primary needs that motivate people to choose mass media for accomplishing their goals, including the needs for cognition, affection, personal integration (or, identity), social integration, and tension release (or, diversion). These needs serve as guidelines for U&G researchers to map out typologies of motivations in explaining user behavior with a given medium. For example, in Rubin’s (1981) TV viewing motive typology, “learning” indicates a cognitive need, “companionship” specifies an affective need, and “escape” can be termed a need for tension release.

Extending the U&G perspective to cyberspace, researchers (e.g., C. L. Armstrong & McAdams, 2011; Atkin, Jeffres, Neuendorf, Lange, & Skalski, 2005; Lin, Salwen, & Abdulla, 2005) have explored a variety of motivations for using different online media and web applications. As posting comments on news stories is related to using the web function of user-generated content to express opinions and thoughts, motivations for being engaged in SNSs and personal blogs are particularly relevant. Scholars (e.g., Hunt et al., 2012; Leung, 2013) have identified motivations such as entertainment (e.g., to pass time), need for recognition or self-expression (e.g., exhibitionism), and interpersonal utility (e.g., affection and companionship) that predict Facebook users’ photo or comment posting and use of the “like” function. In addition, cognitive needs—including getting feedback and refining one’s own thinking—were found to be a significant predictor of personal blog posting and maintenance (e.g., Hollenbaugh, 2011; Leung, 2013).

The above motivations may explain individual comment posting behaviors as well. First, a user may be prompted by the personal integrative need to post comments and thoughts for receiving others’ attention and recognition. This underscores the motivation of exhibitionism. Second, individuals may be motivated by the need for cognition—to ask for more information about the given news story—or get other commenters’ feedback. Third, the social nature of online news discussions facilitates opinion exchange among web users. The motivation for social connection—derived from the need for social integration—may thus be also predictive of one’s comment posting, particularly for social media.

Hollenbaugh (2011) also identified the motivation of information acquisition to maintain one’s own blog. This suggests that the more individuals keep updating their blog contents to demonstrate the information or knowledge, the more he or she learns about a given issue. Such motivation of informing can be regarded as a mixture of social integrative and cognitive needs, which illustrate that the bloggers try to reach out to or help other netizens with their own knowledge. In the context of online news comments, commenters may express their opinions on a news event as a way of knowledge conveyance or sharing. Finally, consistent with the studies focusing on the use of online forums and blogs (e.g., Hollenbaugh, 2011; Leung, 2013), the entertainment-oriented motivation—pass time—may also describe how individuals are engaged in posting comments on news stories just for fun.

This study synthesizes potential motivations for posting comments on online news stories from previous studies on the use of other forms of online media (e.g., Hollenbaugh, 2011; Leung, 2013). Drawing from the U&G perspective, we assume that the motivations found to be related to media use above—informing, social connection, pass time, exhibitionism, and obtaining feedback—should also positively predict the frequency of posting comments on online news stories. Based on this theoretical dynamic, we hypothesize the following:

H3: Level of motivation to inform others will positively predict the frequency of posting comments on online news.

H4: Level of motivation to connect with others will positively predict the frequency of posting comments on online news.

H5: Level of pass time motivation will positively predict the frequency of posting comments on online news.

H6: Level of exhibitionism motivation will positively predict the frequency of posting comments on online news.

H7: Level of motivation to obtain feedback from others will positively predict the frequency of posting comments on online news.

Moreover, given that news comment posting is becoming increasingly diverse, one’s motivations for posting comments and the posting frequencies may also differ between platforms (e.g., online news comment sections and SNSs). This study addresses the following research question to understand the motivations for engaging into these two primary forms of online news discussions:

RQ5: What are the similarities and differences in the motivations that predict the frequencies of posting online news comments on online news comment sections and SNSs?

Method

Participants

This study recruited students who were enrolled in a large, introductory-level undergraduate communication course at a major university in the Eastern United States as participants. According to Duggan et al. (2015), the majority of SNS (i.e., Facebook and Twitter) users fall in the age group of 18 to 29 and have “some college.” College students can thus help provide a useful snapshot of the generation cohort that dominates the early adopter segment of social media applications such as Facebook (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007; Mou, Fu, & Atkin, 2011; Mou, Wu, & Atkin, 2014). Although Facebook has diffused beyond its college student origins, this “Digital Native” cohort remains among the most active social media segments, including the posting and sharing behaviors studied here (e.g., Palfrey & Gasser, 2008); they seem purposively well suited, therefore, as an early adopter segment for the present examination.

That said, the user background of those who are engaged in online news comment sections remains unclear due to the lack of attention paid to the role of commenters in past research. Thus, by focusing on college students, this study can establish a baseline profile governing the use of online news commenting sections for an involved segment in online communication. Such an approach can provide a relatively in-depth examination of personality and motivational antecedents influencing these two modalities for news comment posting, enhancing our understanding of characteristic uses for an emerging generation of online news consumers.

The recruited students were asked to fill out the online questionnaire published on Qualtrics.com, and they were granted research credit for their participation. The total sample size of this study was 517. Among the participants, 48.2% (n = 249) were male and 51.8% (n = 268) were female. In terms of ethnicity, the majority (73.7%) were Caucasians, followed by Asian Americans (7.7%), African Americans (5.0%), Hispanics (3.9%), and Others (9.2%).

Measurement

Personality traits

To measure the personality traits of online news comments users, the 50-item measure of International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; 2010) was employed to measure extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. All the items were followed by a seven-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

The initial confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) yielded a relatively poor model fit (χ² = 4,896.63, df = 1,168, p < .001; comparative fit index [CFI] = .733; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .079). After removing items that revealed relatively poor loadings,³ the revised CFA demonstrated improvement in model fit (χ² = 714.90, df = 451, p < .001; CFI = .973; RMSEA = .034; see Table 1). The total number of items, mean, standard deviation, and Cronbach’s alpha values for each trait measure are as follows: extraversion (10 items, M = 4.53, SD = 1.15, α = .91), agreeableness (five items, M = 5.50, SD = 0.95, α = .89), conscientiousness (eight items, M = 4.75, SD = 1.02, α = .87), neuroticism (six items, M = 3.46, SD = 1.23, α = .89), and openness (four items, M = 5.16, SD = 1.01, α = .84).

Table 1.

Factor Loadings for CFA on the Big Five Inventory.

Item	O	C	E	A	N
Is full of ideas.	.88
Doesn’t have a good imagination. (R)	.80
Has a vivid imagination.	.75
Has excellent ideas.	.71
Follows a schedule.		.83
Likes order.		.79
Is exacting in my work.		.72
Gets chores done right away.		.64
Is always prepared.		.64
Makes a mess of things. (R)		.53
Often forgets to put things back in their proper place. (R)		.50
Leaves my belongings around. (R)		.43
Starts conversations.			.85
Talks to a lot of different people at parties.			.84
Is the life of the party.			.80
Keeps in the background. (R)			.76
Feels comfortable around people.			.72
Doesn’t talk a lot. (R)			.68
Is quiet around strangers. (R)			.66
Doesn’t mind being the center of attention.			.64
Has little to say. (R)			.59
Doesn’t like to draw attention to myself. (R)			.48
Feels others’ emotions.				.84
Takes time out for others.				.81
Has a soft heart.				.80
Sympathizes with others’ feelings.				.76
Makes people feel at ease.				.72
Has frequent mood swings. (R)					.93
Changes mood a lot. (R)					.92
Often feels blue. (R)					.69
Gets irritated easily. (R)					.69
Gets upset easily. (R)					.58
Is easily disturbed. (R)					.56

Note. Model fit: χ² = 714.90, df = 451, p < .001; CFI = .973; RMSEA = .034. CFA = confirmatory factor analysis; O = openness; C = conscientiousness; E = extroversion; A = agreeableness; N = neuroticism. CFI = comparative fit index; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation.

In addition, the dimensions of “superiority” and “exhibitionism” from Raskin and Terry’s (1988) Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) were also included to measure one’s level of narcissism with a seven-point Likert-type scale. The initial CFA yielded a relatively poor model fit (χ² = 476.99, df = 53, p < .001; CFI = .799; RMSEA = .125), indicating the need for model re-specification. After dropping off items that carried lower loadings, the revised CFA demonstrated good model fit (χ² = 18.84, df = 12, p = .092; CFI = .995; RMSEA = .033; see Table 2). The mean, standard deviation, and Cronbach’s alpha values for superiority are M = 4.78, SD = 1.01, α = .71, while the values for exhibitionism are M = 3.30, SD = 1.15, α = .82.

Table 2.

Factor Loadings for CFA on Narcissism.

Item	Superiority	Exhibitionism
I am an extraordinary person.	.82
I know that I am good because everybody keeps telling me so.	.49
I think I am a special person.	.72
I like to be the center of attention.		.92
I really like to be the center of attention.		.88
I like to start new fads and fashions.		.58
I am apt to show off if I get the chance.		.53
I get upset when people don’t notice how I look when I go out in public.		.53

Note. Model fit: χ² = 18.84, df = 12, p = .092; CFI = .995; RMSEA = .033. CFA = confirmatory factor analysis; CFI = comparative fit index; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation.

Motivations for commenting

To measure the motivations for commenting on online news, this study adapted five of the seven factors from Hollenbaugh’s (2011) measure of blogging motives, namely, informing (six items; for example, “To share information that may be of use to others”), social connection (four items; for example, “To communicate to my friends and family”), pass time (three items; for example, “Because I have nothing better to do”), exhibitionism (three items; for example, “To gain fame or notoriety”), and obtaining feedback (three items; for example, “To get feedback from others who have similar experiences”). These 19 items were all followed by a seven-point Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

CFA using AMOS 20 with a maximum likelihood algorithm was then conducted to ascertain the validity of the factor structure of this measure. The goodness of fit indices indicated a relatively good model fit: χ² = 314.73, df = 123, p < .001; CFI = .979; RMSEA = .055. Moreover, the items composing each factor were summed and averaged to reveal means and standard deviations as follows: informing (M = 3.64; SD = 1.27), social connection (M = 3.67, SD = 1.39), pass time (M = 3.18, SD = 1.39), exhibitionism (M = 2.77, SD = 1.28), and getting feedback (M = 3.60, SD = 1.48). The reliability tests conducted for the above factors showed robust Cronbach’s alpha values—α = .93, α = .89, α = .92, α = .90, and α = .93—respectively.

News comment posting

With regard to online commentary, this study focuses on the frequency of news comment posting behaviors. Two items measured frequency of posting for online news comments sections on a five-point Likert-type scale (1 = never to 5 = always); they include (a) “I post my thoughts on the comments section of online news stories” and (b) “I respond to others’ comments on the comments section of online news stories.” In addition, four items were created to measure the frequency of posting news comments on SNSs with the same five-point Likert-type scale: (a) “I share my personal comments about the online news I post on my SNSs,” (b) “I respond to others’ comments about the online news that I share on my SNSs,” (c) “I post my comments about the online news shared by my friends on their SNSs,” and (d) “I respond to others’ comments about the online news shared by my friends on their SNSs.”

Gender

The participants were asked to indicate their biological sex as either male or female. Although the effect of gender is not encompassed in the research interests of this study, a substantial amount of research has pointed out the effect of either user biological sex or gender on the motivations for adopting online applications (e.g., Hunt et al., 2012; Krishnan & Atkin, 2014; Leung, 2013). To tease apart the potential influence of gender in the following analysis, this study takes gender as a control variable.

Collinearity statistics using the variance inflation factor (VIF) were tested by including the big five personality traits, the two dimensions of narcissism, and five motivations in a multiple regression model. The results showed that VIF scores did not exceed 2.784, indicating that multicollinearity was not a concern.

Results

Descriptive statistics show that almost half of the respondents have posted comments (47.2%) and/or responded to other’s comments (43.3%) on online news comment sections. The results of these two items were then combined to represent the participants’ frequency of posting comments on online news comment sections (M = 1.70, SD = 0.85). In terms of posting news comments on SNSs, more than 60% of respondents have had such posting experience, either on their own or others’ social media platforms. The relevant four items were then combined to represent frequency of posting comments on SNSs (M = 2.09, SD = 0.95).

In addition, paired samples t tests indicated a significant difference between the frequencies of these two platforms of news comment posting behaviors, t(516) = 11.98, p < .001. This result shows that social media are more popular platforms—relative to news comment sections—for people to express their opinions and thoughts about a news story. This discrepancy also reinforces the need to identify the motivations explaining individuals’ online news comment posting on each mechanism queried in RQ5.

Personality Traits and Motivations

H1 and H2, as well as RQ1 to RQ4, address the effects of personality traits on the motivations for posting comments on online news; they were tested by five hierarchical regression analyses in which each of the five motivations served as the criterion variable. Gender (male sex) was first entered as the control variable into each hierarchical regression model. The big five personality traits and two dimensions of narcissism were entered at the next step.

H1 addresses the relationships between extraversion and the motivations. The results indicate that extraversion does not positively predict any of the motivations, but serves as a negative predictor of the motivations for exhibitionism (β = −.12, p = .018) and obtaining feedback (β = −.11, p = .033), after controlling for the effect of gender. Thus, H1 fails to gain support. By contrast, both dimensions of narcissism—superiority (β = .12, p = .008) and exhibitionism (β = .29, p < .001)—were found predictive of the motivation for exhibitionism, providing support for H2. In addition, superiority is also a predictor of the pass time motivation (β = .12, p = .014), while exhibitionism also predicts the motivations of informing (β = .12, p = .028) and obtaining feedback (β = .11, p = .033).

Moreover, RQ1 explores the relationships between openness to experience and user motivations. The results show that openness is a negative predictor of the motivation of social connection (β = −.12, p = .012), exhibitionism (β = −.14, p = .002), and obtaining feedback (β = −.10, p = .044). Furthermore, to answer RQ2’s query about the relationships between conscientiousness and posting motivations, the results also indicate that this personality trait negatively predicts the motivations of pass time (β = −.17, p < .001) and exhibitionism (β = −.10, p = .015). Per RQ3’s inquiry regarding the relationship between agreeableness and use motivations, this trait was found to be a positive predictor of the motivations of informing (β = .24, p < .001), social connection (β = .21, p < .001), exhibitionism (β = .12, p = .008), and obtaining feedback (β = .23, p < .001). Finally, to answer RQ4, the personality trait of neuroticism is a positive predictor only of the motivation of pass time (β = .10, p = .044).

Table 3 includes the details of the hierarchical regression analyses.

Table 3.

Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting Motivations for Posting Online News Comments.

Predictor	Informing		Connection		Pass time		Exhibitionism		Feedback
	ΔR²	β	ΔR²	β	ΔR²	β	ΔR²	β	ΔR²	β
Step 1	.00		.02**		.00		.03***		.00
Gender (male sex)		.00		−.13**		.06		.16***		−.01
Step 2	.06***		.06***		.06***		.13***		.06***
Personality traits
Extraversion		−.08		−.02		−.01		−.12*		−.11*
Openness		−.03		.−12*		−.09		−.14**		−.10*
Conscientiousness		−.01		.01		−.16***		−.10*		−.06
Agreeableness		.24***		.21***		.08		.12**		.23***
Neuroticism		.05		.06		.10*				−.01
Narcissism
Superiority		.03		.05		.12*		.03		.02
Exhibitionism		.11*		.09		.06		.29***		.11*
Total R²	.06***		.07***		.05***		.17***		.04***

p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Motivations and Frequencies of Posting Comments via Different Mechanisms

H3 to H7 posit positive relationships between five motivations for news comment posting and actual posting frequency. Moreover, RQ5 explores the commonalities and differences involving the motivations for the frequencies of posting comments on online news comment sections and SNSs. To answer these queries, two hierarchical regression models were analyzed, using the frequency of posting on online news comment sections and the frequency of posting on SNSs as criterion variable in each model. Three sets of variables—gender, the seven personality traits, and the five motivations—were entered in the regression equations.

The result of the online news comment sections model shows that after controlling gender and personality traits, the motivations of informing (β = .21, p < .001), exhibitionism (β = .12, p < .001), and obtaining feedback (β = .24, p < .001) are significant predictors. However, the motivation of social connection (β = .34, p < .001) is the only predictor of the frequency of posting news comments on individuals’ SNSs. Therefore, H3, H4, H6, and H7 are partially supported, while H5 (motivation to pass time) fails to be supported. Furthermore, the results for RQ5 also reveal that the motivations predicting the frequencies of posting comments on different mechanisms are dissimilar. See Table 4 for more details on the hierarchical regression models.

Table 4.

Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting Frequencies of Posting Comments on Online News Comment Sections and SNSs.

	Frequency of posting on online news comments sections		Frequency of posting on SNSs
Predictor	ΔR²	B	ΔR²	β
Step 1	.03***		.00
Gender (male sex)		.17***		.04
Step 2	.05***		.05**
Personality traits
Extraversion		−.08		.00
Openness		−.07		−.06
Conscientiousness		−.11*		−.05
Agreeableness		.04		.12*
Neuroticism		.03		−.01
Narcissism
Superiority		.00		.03
Exhibitionism		.19***		.18**
Step 3	.27***		.25***
Motivations
Informing		.21***		.11
Social		.04		.34***
Pass time		.04		.01
Exhibitionism		.12*		.02
Feedback		.24***		.10
Total R²	.43***		.32***

Note. SNS = social networking site.

p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Discussion

The present study focuses on user personality traits and motivations for individuals engaged in online news discussions, particularly in the form of posting comments to online news articles. The results not only provide substantive profile of online commenters and why they post, but can also identify the similarities and discrepancies between two major comment posting mechanisms—the online news comment sections and SNSs. On balance, narcissism and agreeableness were shown to be the key personality predictors of motivations for posting comments on online news. Yet, the motivations of more narcissistic and the more agreeable individuals to post their comments demonstrate subtle differences.

Narcissism has been presented as a personality correlate of self-admiration and self-love (Freud, 1914/1957; Raskin & Terry, 1988), and the user-generated contents provided by online media today serve as a venue for the people with a higher level of narcissism to display their amplified self-worth (e.g., Krishnan & Atkin, 2014). The findings in this study help identify the nuances between superiority and exhibitionism under the overarching label of narcissism. The results indicate that those with a higher level of superiority tend to express their opinions on social incidents as a way to relieve boredom, suggesting that posting comments is merely a casual activity to them. This self-fulfilling purpose of “killing the time” may thus contribute little to the quality of online news discussions. Furthermore, the narcissistic individuals with a higher level of exhibitionism were found more motivated to reflect a sense of self-importance by advocating their opinions to others. In other words, such narcissists tend to post their comments to gain attention from others. This may be explained by Leung’s (2013) finding of a significant correlation between narcissism and recognition needs for generating contents via social media. Therefore, the mechanisms of online news comment posting serve as venues for them to achieve egocentric purposes.

Among the big five personality traits, moreover, agreeableness was found to be a significant positive predictor of various motivations for commenting on online news. Because that personality trait describes the value of soft-heartedness, helpfulness, good nature, and straightforwardness (McCrae & Costa, 1990), this study demonstrates that those who are more agreeable tend to post their comments on online news to help others engage in the news events, share the information that may be useful to others, demonstrating their own thoughts, and also invite advice or viewpoints from others. These findings further suggest an others-oriented intention for posting one’s own comments on online news, one that may encourage a more positive communication climate during online interactions. Such an agreeable atmosphere may also differ from the conversations generated from a self-oriented intention exhibited by narcissistic individuals.

In addition to the above predictors, the personality traits of extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness inversely predict the motivations for commenting on online news, particularly the motivation of exhibitionism. Simply put, individuals who are more introverted, less open-minded to new experiences, or more careless (Mulyanegara, Tsarenko, & Anderson, 2009) are more likely to post their comments to news stories to fulfill their need for social recognition. These negative correlations disconfirm study expectations as well as previous scholarly work suggesting links between extraversion and posting behavior (e.g., Krishnan & Atkin, 2014).

Because online news comment posting is generally a text-based, asynchronous form of online communication—which enables users to pursue a more ideal self-presentation according to the hyper-personal perspective (e.g., Walther, 2011)—this opinion forum may be more desirable for those who are less sociable in the offline world. That is, online posting venues can provide a compensation mechanism for those who might shy away from face-to-face discussion of news and current affairs. Also, the individuals who are less open-minded may feel more comfortable using these comment posting venues to exhibit their viewpoints—without the pressure of being judged by the adversaries or getting into arguments with them—as found in face-to-face conversations. Furthermore, for those who have a lower level of conscientiousness or self-control, their higher motivation for exhibitionism implies that these people may not take what they post seriously. Online news discussions may just be a newer fashioned way for them to show off their opinions without caring about the influences that their posts would bring. This partly explains why destructive contents—such as hate speech—are constantly found in the research addressing online news comments (e.g., Erjavec & Kovačič, 2012; Loke, 2013).

Another research interest of this study is to examine the influence of individuals’ motivations for posting online news comments on their actual posting behavior. The present study encompassed both online news comment sections and SNSs, given that Internet users have more than one venue to post comments on the public issues reported by news media. The results point out that the motivations emerging as predictors of each mechanism’s posting frequency differ. To be more specific, informing, exhibitionism, and obtaining feedback are found predictive of the frequency of commenting on online news comment sections, while social connection turns out to be the only predictor of posting on SNSs. This discrepancy provides substantial evidence that explains the different use of online news comments platforms, enhancing our understanding of this prevailing form of online news discussions.

Regarding online news comment section posting, the motivations of informing and exhibitionism indicate the commenters’ intention to share knowledge and/or opinions. This suggests a primary interest in self-presentation that tends to drive the users to attach their opinions under individual news stories. Moreover, obtaining feedback also explains why some users are motivated for posting comments on this venue, indicating that the users may also employ this mechanism to look for advice or more viewpoints from others. As this motivation reflects the need for cognition (McCombs, 2004), online news comment sections can be seen as an avenue for information seeking by the users. All together, these motivations also highlight the interactive potential of the news comment sections for opinion exchange.

However, social connection solely predicts posting news comments on SNSs. It not only resonates the findings of other social media use studies (e.g., Hunt et al., 2012; Leung, 2013) but also reaffirms that posting comments on news stories on SNSs is a means for individuals to interact with other users in their web social ties. In other words, users are likely to take advantage of this type of user-generated content for maintaining relationships with their contacts in social media, strengthening their social ties in cyberspace. Therefore, delivering personal thoughts and opinions to a news event may be merely an offshoot of posting in this context.

Furthermore, the predictions of personality traits on different user motivations for posting comments also have implications for the different use of online news comment platforms. Among the personality types correlated with the motivations that predict a higher frequency of posting comments on online news comment sections, agreeableness (on informing and obtaining feedback) and the exhibitionism dimension of narcissism (on exhibitionism) are the two strongest predictors. These associations imply that individuals who are more agreeable express greater motivation to post their comments concerning online news stories. Specifically, they use online news comment sections more frequently when they are more prone to inform or help other readers or commenters. However, the narcissistic individuals who are more likely to post comments on this online sphere seem to enjoy demonstrating their self-worth within the news comments they post.

Moreover, in the context of posting comments on SNSs, because the motivation of social connection is mainly positively predicted by agreeableness—but negatively predicted by openness—these two personality traits reveal further implications for the process of this posting behavior. For more agreeable individuals, pursuing other commenters’ input enables one to piece together a more comprehensive understanding of a given news event, exemplifying the constructive function of online news discussions that perform as a public sphere. Those who are less open to new experience or ideas, however, may post their comments primarily to seek kindred voices. As similar viewpoints accumulate, the phenomenon of opinion polarization easily emerges. This echoes the findings of more rampant uninhibited behaviors such as hate speech (e.g., Erjavec & Kovačič, 2012; Loke, 2013) and “flaming” (e.g., Kiesler, Zubrow, & Geller, 1985; Sproull & Kiesler, 1986) common to online discussions. Postings stemming from this motivation, thus, tend to be far afield from the public interests that advance our understanding of the news.

Study Limitations and Future Directions

This study analyzes user personality traits and motivations for posting comments on online news with a sample of college students. Unlike research on bloggers (e.g., Leung, 2013) or Facebook users (e.g., Hunt et al., 2012)—which uncovers more clearly defined user populations—the user profile emerging here is less complete. This may be because such posting behavior can take place in more than one venue, including news comment sections and social media. Given that recent studies showing that college students are disproportionately represented among social media users, the present study enlisted this cohort as participants to investigate the factors that influence their comment posting frequencies on different mechanisms.

Study findings, undergirded by the U&G perspective, substantiate that individuals’ personality traits predict their motivation for posting comments. This in turn predicts their frequency of posting. In addition, the profiles of news commenters drawn from this student sample not only provide grist for conceptualization on this posting behavior but also provide a baseline for a more comprehensive assessment of the characteristics of this user population. Therefore, it is useful to further examine the personality traits and the motivations for posting comments on online news from a broader sample of participants with more diverse socio-demographic backgrounds.

Moreover, the current study investigated online users’ news commenting in general, rather than scrutinizing their behaviors while in response to specific topics or outlets of news stories. On the basis of the current findings, later work could explore whether one’s motivations to comment will be influenced by the news stories from different sections or the same news event reported from different perspectives.

Finally, later work could improve on the current research model by incorporating other constructs—such as self efficacy, need for orientation (McCombs, 2004), and the spiral of silence (Noelle-Neumann, 1984)—to better understand the role of online news comments in the process of modern-day news consumption. As posting comments demonstrate the readers’ reflection and feedback on the news events and news reports, extensive examination of how and why Internet users employ this type of user-generated content will also inform our understanding of audience participation in public affairs and the flow of public opinion.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes

Author Biographies

Tai-Yee Wu (MA, Shih Hsin University) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut. He is interested in the use of new communication technologies and the effects of such use. His current work largely focuses on the practices of user-generated content, such as online news comments and consumer product reviews.

David Atkin (PhD, Michigan State University) is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut. His research interests include the adoption and uses of digital media and telecommunication policy.

References

Amichai-Hamburger

Wainpel

Fox

(2002). On the Internet no one knows I’m an introvert: Extraversion, introversion, and Internet interaction. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 5, 125-128.

Armstrong

C. L.

McAdams

M. J.

(2011). Blogging the time away? Young adults’ motivations for blog use. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 19, 113-128.

Armstrong

Zuniga

M. M.

(2006). Crashing the gate: Netroots, grassroots and the rise of people-powered politics. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green.

Atkin

Jeffres

Neuendorf

Lange

Skalski

(2005). Why they chat: Audience adoption and use of online media. In Salwen

Garrison

Driscoll

(Eds.), Online news and the public (pp. 303-322). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Blumler

J. G.

(1979). The role of theory in uses and gratifications studies. Communication Research, 6, 9-36.

Butt

Phillips

J. G.

(2008). Personality and self reported mobile phone use. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 346-360.

Correa

Hinsley

de Zuniga

H. G.

(2010). Who interacts on the Web? The intersection of users’ personality and social media use. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 247-253.

Costa

P. T.

Jr. McCrae

R. R.

(1988). From catalog to classification: Murray’s needs and the five-factor model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 258-265.

Douai

Nofal

(2012). Commenting in the online Arab public sphere: Debating the Swiss Minaret Ban and the “Ground Zero Mosque” online. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17, 266-282.

10.

Duggan

Ellison

N. B.

Lampe

Lenhart

Madden

(2015). Social media update 2014. Retrieved from www.pewinternet.org/Files/2015/01/P1SocialMediaUpdate20144.pdf

11.

Ellison

N. B.

Steinfield

Lampe

(2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends”: Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143-1168.

12.

Erjavec

Kovačič

M. P.

(2012). “You don’t understand, this is a new war!” Analysis of hate speech in news websites’ comments. Mass Communication and Society, 15, 899-920.

13.

Finn

(1997). Origins of media exposure: Linking personality traits to TV, radio, print, and film use. Communication Research, 24, 507-529.

14.

Freud

(1957). On narcissism: An introduction. In Strachey

(Ed. & Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 14, pp. 73-102). London, England: Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1914)

15.

Galauner

Pettey

Beatty

Rudd

Atkin

(2011). Using personality traits to examine television use: Combining uses and gratifications with Eysenck’s big three. Southwestern Mass Communication Journal, 27(1), 1-13.

16.

Garnham

(1992). The media and the public sphere. In Calhoun

(Ed.), Habermas and the public sphere (pp. 359-376). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

17.

Gill

Nowson

Oberlander

(2009). What are they blogging about? Retrieved from http://nowson.com/papers/GillNowOber-ICWSM09.pdf

18.

Graham

L. T.

Gosling

S. D.

(2013). Personality profiles associated with different motivations for playing World of Warcraft. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16, 189-193.

19.

Guth

Thomas

(2010). Telecollaboration with Web 2.0 tools. In Guth

Helm

(Eds.), Telecollaboration 2.0: Language, literacies, and intercultural learning in the 21st century (pp. 39-68). New York, NY: Peter Lang.

20.

Habermas

(1989). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

21.

Hollenbaugh

E. E.

(2011). Motives for maintaining personal journal blogs. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(1-2), 13-20.

22.

Hunt

D. S.

Atkin

Krishnan

(2012). The influence of computer-mediated communication apprehension on motives for Facebook use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56, 187-202.

23.

Hunt

D. S.

Langstedt

(2014). The influence of personality on digital photo sharing. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 3(2), 42-64.

24.

International Personality Item Pool. (2010). International Personality Item Pool: A scientific collaboratory for the development of advanced measures of personality traits and other individual differences. Retrieved from http://ipip.ori.org/newBigFive5broadKey.htm

25.

Katz

Blumler

J. G.

Gurevitch

(1973). Uses and gratifications research. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 37, 509-523.

26.

Katz

Gurevitch

Haas

(1973). On the use of the mass media for important things. American Sociological Review, 38, 164-181.

27.

Kiesler

Zubrow

Moses

A. M.

Geller

(1985). Affect in computer-mediated communication: An experiment in synchronous terminal-to-terminal discussion. Human-Computer Interaction, 1, 77-104.

28.

Krishnan

Atkin

(2014). Individual differences in social networking site users: The interplay between antecedents and consequential effect on level of activity. Computers in Human Behavior, 40, 111-118.

29.

Leung

(2013). Generational differences in content generation in social media: The roles of the gratifications sought and of narcissism. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 997-1006.

30.

Lin

C. A.

Salwen

M. B.

Abdulla

R. A.

(2005). Uses and gratifications of online and offline news: New wine in an old bottle? In Salwen

M. B.

Garrsion

Driscoll

P. D.

(Eds.), Online news and the public (pp. 221-236). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

31.

Loke

(2013). Readers’ debate a local murder trial: “Race” in the online public sphere. Communication, Culture & Critique, 6, 179-200.

32.

McCluskey

Hmielowski

(2011). Opinion expression during social conflict: Comparing online reader comments and letter to the editor. Journalism, 13, 303-319.

33.

McCombs

M. E.

(2004). Setting the agenda: The news media and public opinion. Malden, MA: Polity Press.

34.

McCrae

R. R.

Costa

P. T.

(1990). Personality in adulthood. Guilford Press.

35.

McCrae

R. R.

John

O. P.

(1992). An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. Journal of Personality, 60, 175-215.

36.

Mou

Atkin

(2011). Predicting political discussion in a censored virtual environment. Political Communication, 28, 341-356.

37.

Mou

Atkin

(2014). Understanding the use of circumvention tools to bypass online censorship. New Media & Society, 16, 1-20.

38.

Mulyanegara

R. C.

Tsarenko

Anderson

(2009). The Big Five and brand personality: Investigating the impact of consumer personality on preferences towards particular brand personality. Journal of Brand Management, 16, 234-247.

39.

Noelle-Neumann

(1984). The spiral of silence: Public opinion—Our social skin. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

40.

Norman

W. T.

(1963). Toward an adequate taxonomy of personality attributes: Replicated factor structure in peer nomination personality ratings. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 574-583.

41.

Palfrey

Gasser

(2008). Born digital: Understanding the first generation of digital natives. New York, NY: Basic Books.

42.

Papacharissi

Rubin

M. A.

(2000). Predictors of Internet use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44, 175-196.

43.

Pew Research Center. (2015, July 14). The evolving role of news on Twitter and Facebook. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/files/2015/07/Twitter-and-News-Survey-Report-FINAL2.pdf

44.

Pornsakulvanich

Haridakis

Rubin

A. M.

(2008). The influence of dispositions and Internet motivation on online communication satisfaction and relationship closeness. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 2292-2310.

45.

Purcell

Rainie

Mitchell

Rosenstiel

Olmstead

(2010). Understanding the participatory news consumer: How Internet and cell phone users have turned news into a social experience. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2010/PIP_Understanding_the_Participatory_News_Consumer.pdf

46.

Quan-Haase

Young

A. L.

(2010). Uses and gratifications of social media: A comparison of Facebook and instant messaging. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30, 350-361.

47.

Raskin

R. N.

Hall

C. S.

(1979). A narcissistic personality inventory. Psychological Reports, 45, 590.

48.

Raskin

R. N.

Terry

(1988). A principal components analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and further evidence of its construct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 890-902.

49.

Rasmussen

(2013). Internet-based media, Europe and the political public sphere. Media, Culture & Society, 35, 97-104.

50.

Reader

(2012). Free press vs. free speech? The rhetoric of “civility” in regard to anonymous online comments. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 89, 495-513.

51.

Rosengren

K. E.

(1974). Uses and gratifications: A paradigm outlined. In Blumler

J. G.

Katz

(Eds.), The uses of mass communications: Current perspectives on gratifications research (pp. 269-286). Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.

52.

Ross

Orr

E. S.

Sisic

Arseneault

J. M.

Simmering

M. G.

Orr

R. R.

(2009). Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 578-586.

53.

Rubin

A. M.

(1981). An examination of television viewing motivations. Communication Research, 8, 141-165.

54.

Rubin

A. M.

(2009). Uses-and-gratifications perspective on media effects. In Bryant

Oliver

M. B.

(Eds.), Media effects: Advanced in theory and research (3rd ed., pp. 165-184). New York, NY: Routledge.

55.

Sproull

Kiesler

(1986). Reducing social context cues: Electronic mail in organizational communication. Management Science, 32, 1492-1512.

56.

Sundar

S. S.

Limperos

(2013). Uses and grats 2.0: New gratifications for a new media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 57, 504-525.

57.

Vrocharidou

Efthymiou

(2012). Computer mediated communication for social and academic purposes: Profiles of use and University students’ gratifications. Computers & Education, 58, 609-616.

58.

Walther

J. B.

(2011). Theories of computer-mediated communication and interpersonal relations. In Knapp

M. L.

Daly

J. A.

(Eds.), The SAGE handbook of interpersonal communication (4th ed., pp. 443-479). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

59.

Wang

Lin

Liao

(2012). Investigating the individual difference antecedents of perceived enjoyment in students’ use of blogging. British Journal of Educational Technology, 43, 139-152.

60.

Weiser

E. B.

(2015). #Me: Narcissism and its facets as predictors of selfie-posting frequency. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 477-481.