Digital Judges or Engaged Audiences? : A Qualitative Study of Gender, Morality, and Negative Evaluations in Online Comment Sections about Robinson

Digital comment sections have become important spaces where audience opinions and values are made visible. Reality television often creates strong reactions, and participants in these programs are frequently judged and discussed on social media. This study examines how language is used in comment sections connected to the Swedish reality television program Robinson to express, reinforce, and sometimes question negative views of the participants. The aim of the study is to analyze how misogynistic expressions, moral judgments, and other forms of negative language are created through interaction between users. The study focuses on how language is used to judge participants’ behavior, performance, and personal value, and how these judgments are strengthened when other users agree or repeat similar comments. The material consists of comments collected from posts on Robinson’s official Facebook page. The analysis is based on critical discourse analysis and focuses on how language shapes meaning, norms, and social boundaries in the comment sections. The study is guided by earlier research on reality television, audience participation online, gender, and evaluative language. The results show that the comment sections work as social spaces where participants are judged based on ideas about morality, performance, and gender. Negative comments do not only focus on what participants do in the program, but also describe them as certain types of people. Female participants are judged more harshly, especially when they show emotions or make strategic choices. The study also shows that repeated comments and agreement help make negative language seem more normal, although some users question or challenge these views. In conclusion, the study shows that language in comment sections does not only reflect audience opinions, but also plays an active role in shaping and spreading ideas about gender, morality, and value in a reality television context.