Queueing for Civility: User Perspectives on Regulating Emotions in Online Conversations

Online conversations are often disrupted by trolling, causing distress and increased conflict. Previous research has primarily focused on addressing harmful content after it has appeared. However, real-time strategies for managing emotions have not been explored much. This study introduces a comment queuing system that delays emotionally charged comments, encourages self-reflection, and lessens impulsive reactions. A mixed-methods approach was employed to demonstrate that the developed queuing approach can help reduce the spread of negative emotional content while maintaining conversational flow. User feedback indicates that participants believe the queuing mechanism could calm discussions, reduce impulsive comments, and create a more balanced emotional tone in conversations. They expressed interest in seeing it implemented on social media platforms. A strong link was found between users' typical emotional states while using social media and their perceptions of the delay; calm users found the mechanism beneficial, while frustrated users expected it to cause more frustration.