Fostering the Intellectual Virtue of Civility in Online Contexts

Abstract

Civility provides norms for engaging in discourse on topics that yield harm or benefit to others, affect the conditions of our lives, and drive public policy—in short, on topics that matter, morally and politically. While discourse on moral and political matters is already difficult in face-to-face and interpersonal conversations, online interactions through social media pose unique challenges for interactions and exchanges. Using research from philosophy, psychology, behavioral economics, and computer science, I explain how the intellectual virtue of civility can be fostered within individuals as a developed trait of internalized norms to guide how one engages with others when evaluating beliefs and contentious issues. Like the development of any virtue, the development of civility takes time, practice, and effort, but it can be fostered even in online contexts through the careful contextualization of experience and practiced behaviors. Altering tech design through the use of goal setting, nudges, gamification, and in-group priming allows for repeatable behaviors to be practiced and modified. Shifting from a focus on policies for content moderation to a focus on users’ choices within online interactions—and deeper consideration for how designs affect users’ options, choices, and agency—allows us to capitalize on insights from moral psychology and education to see new ways forward in combatting incivility in online contexts.