Visualizing Cumulative Consequences: Addressing Distance from Effect and Lack of Awareness in Online Commenting Data_Analysis

Harmful commenting persists due to interface designs that obscure social consequences and limited awareness of cumulative impact. Most interventions are momentary, offering little longitudinal reflection support. We developed a browser-based system that maps comments onto a persistent virtual tree designed to reduce psychological distance and increase awareness. In a seven-week field study (N = 50), we examined associations between continuous feedback and commenting patterns. Positive comments increased from 38.5% to 67.2% (β = 5.13%/week, 95%CI : 2.1–8.2, p = 0.008); neutral decreased from 54.8% to 30.8% (β = –4.16%/week, 95%CI : –6.5to–1.8, p = 0.004); negative remained low (6.7%→2.0%). Post-study survey (N = 37) showed consequences felt more concrete (M = 4.28/5, p < 0.001). However, the single-arm observational design without control group prevents causal inference; patterns could reflect self-selection or Hawthorne effects. Findings warrant randomized controlled trials to establish causal efficacy.