Social Identity Online: The Role of Group Salience on Prosocial Behavior

A significant portion of all contemporary social interaction takes place online. While the destructive power of the social internet has been well-documented, there is a comparative dearth of research on the therapeutic potential of online social interaction. People are increasingly seeking and receiving support on the social internet. This study applied concepts from social identity theory to investigate whether the salience of a shared group identity influences online prosocial behavior. Participants (n=294) were assigned to either a control or salient group condition and then provided a series of help-seeking text stimuli. Analyses indicate that the salience of shared group identity is predictive of prosocial responsiveness to online help-seeking content. Exposure to shared identity cues resulted in higher response frequency and more positive response sentiment. These effects remained consistent across both direct and indirect help-seeking stimuli. Findings from this study clarify the role of contextual factors in the facilitation of online help-providing and may inform the development of future online psychosocial interventions.