The workshop “The online disinhibition effect revisited – disinhibition in the context of digital in/visibility” has been accepted for the three-country conference on communication science organized by the German Communication Association, the Austrian Society of Communication and the Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research. It will be conducted by Cornelia Brantner, Hanne Detel, Ines Engelmann, Katharina Lobinger, Nina Springer, Helena Stehle and Claudia Wilhelm.
Anyone who wants to take a look at the transformation of communication in a digital society cannot avoid dealing with tendencies of disinhibited communication in the context of digital in/visibility, such as hate speech or prosocial communication. In order to address these issues, the workshop will draw on the explanatory approach of the “online disinhibition effect” by John Suler, a social psychological concept that aims to explain both toxic and benign disinhibition with the help of six factors. The workshop, which takes place as part of the conference program “science meets practice”, aims at an exchange with practitioners from socio-political fields who deal with disinhibited communication. The main goal is to jointly discuss potentials and benefits, limits and extensions of the approach for communication science and to initiate new insights for research.
The DACH 21 conference will take place online from April 7 to 9, 2021 and will be hosted by the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ), University of Zurich.
