Pathways to news commenting and the removal of the comment system on news websites

Abstract

Many major news websites have recently opted to remove comment sections that appear beneath their online news articles. However, researchers know very little about how news audiences feel about the silencing of this interactive feature. Our study analyzes data from adult Internet users in the United States in an online survey to provide empirical evidence regarding motivations underlying different engagement in news comment systems and attitudes of news readers toward comment system removal. Overall, findings suggest that compared to non-users, people who read or post comments are more likely to oppose removal. Moreover, comments removal attitude is dependent on motives of using news comment sections. Information-seeking motives are negatively related to the support for comments removal among lurkers, whereas affective socialization motives are positive predictors of comment system removal among commenters.