EXPRESS: The Effect of Downvotes on Content Creation: Evidence from Social Media

This paper studies how receiving negative peer feedback, in the form of downvotes, affects UGC creation on Reddit. We focus on the following outcomes: (a) propensity to post (incidence), (b) where users post, and (c) the strength of opinion (intensity), measured by the extremity of users’ texts. The latter two outcomes are important given ongoing concerns about how social media platforms may contribute to echo chamber formation and polarization. We find that negative feedback increases users’ subsequent posting activity, relative to no feedback, and we do not find evidence that receiving negative feedback drives users away, alleviating concerns about echo chamber formation. In addition, negative peer feedback moderates extreme sentiments—when initial views are extreme, users temper the intensity of their subsequent posts. These effects of negative feedback are consistent with users attempting to maintain their reputation.