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Positive online civility trends have reversed one year into the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Microsoft’s Digital Civility Research.
Teenagers and adults in 18 countries surveyed by the tech giant have said that perceptions of online civility have deteriorated one year into the global pandemic, with respondents in Poland, Philippines, Italy, Germany and Hungary reporting the sharpest net-negative sentiment.
Only one country, Colombia, reported net-positive online civility after a year of global, stay-at-home restrictions.
This latest study, Civility, Safety and Interaction Online 2021, polled teens aged 13-17 and adults aged 18-74 about their exposure to 21 online risks across four categories: behavioral, sexual, reputational and personal/intrusive.
A total of 11,067 individuals participated in the poll in 2021. The research covers 22 geographies including India.
As per the research, in 2021, less than two in 10 respondents (17 per cent) globally said civility online improved as a result of Covid-19, while 30 per cent said it worsened. This is compared to 26 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively, in 2020.
Outcomes
The respondents were asked if they’d experienced or witnessed five different positive outcomes of online interaction associated with the Covid-19 stay-at-home environment, and all five categories yielded lower readings compared to 2020.
Outcomes for the “I see more people helping other people,” category fell to 56 per cent globally compared to 67 per cent last year. “A greater sense of community” fell 12 percentage points to 50 per cent from 62 per cent in 2020.
“People have been more encouraging to each other” dropped eight percentage points to 49 per cent from 57 per cent last year while the category “people have come together more to deal with the crisis” was down six percentage points to 53 per cent from 59 per cent in the previous study.
Finally, “more people are reconnecting with friends and family” slipped two percentage points to 56 per cent from 58 per cent.
“Related, three of the five negative outcomes associated with Covid-19 saw increases in this latest poll, suggesting in at least two categories that Covid fatigue played a noticeable role,” the report said.
The category “people are taking out their frustrations online” was up seven percentage points to 67 per cent while “people are less tolerant” increased to 59 per cent from 54 per cent last year.
Furthermore, 54 per cent of respondents said they had experienced or witnessed more personal attacks and negative comments this year compared to 53 per cent in 2020.
On the positive side, the spread of false and misleading information decreased to 60 per cent in 2021 from 67 per cent in 2020.
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