Social Media Incel Communities and Teenagers' Online Experiences
Abstract
With the rapid development of social media, Incel (involuntary celibate) related content has gradually spread in the online community and received more and more attention. Some Incel communities not only discuss personal loneliness, love difficulties and rejection experiences, but also form negative views on women and more extreme gender concepts. This article mainly studies the communication characteristics of Incel discourse on social media and the impact that these contents may have on teenagers. Through the analysis of existing relevant literature, the research focusses on the formation of the Incel community, social media communication, network algorithms and echo chamber effects, and further analyses the gender stereotypes and negative attitudes in it. The study found that loneliness, insufficient social support and identity difficulties may increase young people's dependence on online groups, while continuous exposure to content with similar views may further reinforce negative gender perceptions. This article believes that the content of Incel does not directly lead to extreme behaviour of all contacts, but some of the views that justify misogynism and violence may affect teenagers' understanding of love, gender relationships and self-worth. Therefore, schools, families and social media platforms need to strengthen the media literacy, social support and mental health education of teenagers, while reasonably managing online content with obvious hate and violent tendencies.
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