Extreme Temperatures Fuel Online Hate Speech
hubie writes:
The well-tempered tweet: Least hate tweets at 15-18 C (59-65F) across the USA:
Temperatures above or below a feel-good window of 12-21 degrees Celsius (54-70 F) are linked to a marked rise in aggressive online behaviour across the USA, a new study finds. Analysing billions of tweets posted on the social media platform Twitter in the USA, researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research found hate speech increasing across climate zones, income groups and belief systems for temperatures too hot or too cold. This indicates limits to adaptation to extreme temperatures, and sheds light on a yet underestimated societal impact of climate change: conflict in the digital sphere with implications for both societal cohesion and mental health.
[...] Across the USA, the authors found low levels of hate tweets in a 'feel-good window' of 12-21C (54-70 F); the minimum of hate tweets is reached for temperatures between 15 and 18C (59-65F) . Temperatures hotter and colder are linked to increases in hate tweets. The precise feel-good temperature window varies a little across climate zones, depending on what temperatures are common. Temperatures above 30C, or 86 degrees Fahrenheit, are however consistently linked to strong increases in online hate across all climate zones and socioeconomic differences such as income, religious beliefs or political preferences.
Journal Reference:
Annika Stechemesser, Anders Levermann, Leonie Wenz. Temperature impacts on hate speech online: evidence from four billion tweets [open]. (2022) The Lancet Planetary Health. DOI: 10.1016/PIIS2542-5196(22)00173-5
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