Frozen discourse: how screenshots hinder depolarization on social media

Abstract

Social media is thought to play a pivotal role in increasing animosity between opposing partisans, i.e., affective polarization. This study focuses on one context that is assumed to reduce polarization–an acute external threat–and demonstrates that even under such conditions, social media platforms perpetuate affective polarization. Furthermore, the research findings suggest a digital feature that might contribute to this process: screenshots. By conducting a case study and thematically analyzing 1,670 tweets discussing ‘inner unity’ posted in Israel during an escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the study shows that screen-captured images can be a barrier to the dynamic process required for depolarization, as they ‘freeze’ online discussions. Additionally, it reveals two content-related discoursal mechanisms involved in preserving polarization between rightist and leftist Jewish Israelis: recalling the ‘unified’ past and distorting the meaning of unity. I discuss the theoretical implications of the findings for the study of the relationship between online political discourse and (de)polarization.