Belief in Instrumental Extremism and Social Media Incivility: The Mediating Role of Political Discussion with Strong and Weak Ties, and Cross-Cutting Discussion

On social media, the deliberative intentions of citizens are disrupted by the incivility that surrounds these online spaces. This situation is exacerbated by users who perceive that adopting extremist opinions will increase their influence, a perception that we conceptualize as belief in instrumental extremism, and that has remained underexplored. In this study, we theorize about this new construct and examine how it influences insulting on social media, a prominent aspect of online incivility. We also examine the mediating role of discussions with strong and weak ties, and cross-cutting discussions. Based on a two-wave panel survey conducted in Spain (N = 570), our findings indicate that weak-tie discussions are positively associated with insulting behavior, while strong-tie and cross-cutting interactions do not show a significant relationship. Moreover, belief in instrumental extremism positively influences insulting on social media indirectly through increased cross-cutting discussions, but not through strong and weak ties discussions. The study provides insights into the dynamics of belief in instrumental extremism and offers practical implications for curbing incivility on social media ecologies.