Radicalization or relief: Divergent impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on incels by seniority

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dc.contributor.authorWedel, Lion
dc.contributor.authorCoufal, Linda
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-02T08:44:17Z
dc.date.available2025-06-02T08:44:17Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractIncels (involuntary celibates) base their identity on the inability to form romantic relationships. We conceptualize the ideology promoted by incels as misogynist extremism and explore the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on the radicalization of this online community. Based on computational measures, we conducted a multi-perspective exploration, comparing the prevalence of and participation in threads dealing with extremism, ideology and mental health on the incels.is forum between pre-lockdown, lockdown and post-lockdown periods. We found evidence of long-term and temporary radicalization. Moreover, we found that, specifically, older forum members increasingly post in extremist-themed threads triggered by the lockdowns. Crucially, we show that activity on mental health–themed threads temporarily decreased during the lockdown. These findings indicate that real-world social isolation reduces mental health complaints among incels but, at the same time, exacerbates misogynist extremism among active community members.
dc.identifier.citationWedel, L., & Coufal, L. (2025). Radicalization or relief: Divergent impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on incels by seniority. New Media & Society, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251336432
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/14614448251336432
dc.identifier.issn1461-4448
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.weizenbaum-library.de/handle/id/905
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherSAGE Publications
dc.rightsopen access
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.subjectcovid-19
dc.subjectextremism
dc.subjectforum
dc.subjectincels
dc.subjectmanosphere
dc.subjectmisogyny
dc.subjectradicalization
dc.subjecttopic model
dc.subjecttoxicity
dc.titleRadicalization or relief: Divergent impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on incels by seniority
dc.typeArticle
dc.type.statuspublishedVersion
dcmi.typeText
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.urlhttps://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251336432
local.researchgroupDynamiken digitaler Nachrichtenvermittlung
local.researchtopicDigitale Märkte und Öffentlichkeiten auf Plattformen
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