The Psychology of Online Vocalization: Exploring Reasons and Patterns

By Dr. Akif Khan

There are three types of people. One, who are vocal in real life (RL). Second ones who are vocal on both social media (SM) and RL. Third type is that is only vocal on SM. 

There are multiple reasons behind it. Many people are not confident in writing stuff (posts, comments or anything else) for multiple reasons again. 

Some people don’t like to express themselves publicly. Some are shy. Some purposely hide their feelings and thoughts. Then there are some who are afraid of alphas, over-smart people and bullies. Then there are over-sharers of course, who have opinions on everything and they don’t care if those opinions are right or wrong. 

A personality with a balanced and wise outlook is hard to come, sometimes it’s privilege, sometimes it’s good upbringing, sometimes it’s luck when people have better lifestyle and no mental stress, depression or traumatic experiences. This can make people expressive sometimes and sometimes shut them down. 

For some people writing is catharsis and interacting online is a form of connecting. Some don’t need that at all and just enjoy reading and listening to other people. Some believe they are learning only for themselves and they don’t owe anyone else any sharing of ideas or helping them. Some just keep tabs on other people and think they’re wiser this way by remaining silent or anonymous. 

Some are scared for various reasons that their thoughts could be used against them and sharing or expressing on SM/online world is not a wise thing to do. They don’t trust the internet/system. Some people believe in conspiracy theories and are obsessive about keeping a low profile online and even in RL. Some prefer to remain anonymous while opining on SM.

Some people love fame and showing off. Some just think it’s their responsibility to share what they know and some have a nature to help people according to their capacity and knowledge. 

Some hate the closed circles/groups and the few people who dominate those spaces due to right or wrong reasons. They feel like left out but since they get enough (knowledge/content/recommendations) from those groups, they tend to stay, in silence. 

Then there are shitposters, attention seekers and those who get hooked up to SM and want to stay relevant by opining on everything even when their opinion is not so good or is just a variant of someone else’s opinion (sometimes it’s exact copy). There are also people who would steal content and reshare it without giving proper credit or shamelessly ascribing the content to their own selves. Some try to stay relevant and act smart by making controversy out of everything. They will read opinions of other people and purposely concoct something that is spicy and different no matter how contradictory it is to their own previous opinions. Some people are adamant on converting other people to their own ideologies. Some woulf just comment on everything according to their own worldview and would not listen to any different opinion. These types often include intellectually dishonest people and those who only seek attention, want to stay relevant or think that the world only revolves around them. Then there are flatterers and fans, of course, who love everything that is written by their beloved influencers. The addiction to likes and following is another topic on which much has been written and can’t be covered here. But we must also not forget the importance of SM, especially its role in decentralising information and brining it to ordinary people’s approach. There is an interesting book titled Twitter and Tear Gas by Zeynep Tufekci on the pros and cons of SM especially in the context of dissent. 

In short, SM is an alternate of real world and the dynamics of human interaction, communication and psychology work here as well as they work in the real life albeit differently sometimes. 

There has been much research being carried out on the communication and interaction on SM. I was just reading a paper (thanks to a friend who shared it) the other day where the researchers studied the way Pakistani women express themselves on TikTok without exposing their identity and the dynamics both social and religious that govern their interaction and communication style. Here is the link to that paper. 

The realm of social media has become a parallel universe where human interactions, communication, and psychological dynamics take on new forms. The reasons behind vocalisation patterns are multifaceted, ranging from shyness and fear to the desire for privacy, attaining fame or the need for catharsis. It is essential to acknowledge that the online world offers a platform for diverse voices to be heard, while also recognizing the complexities that arise, such as the fear of judgment, information privacy concerns, and the dominance of certain groups. As ongoing research delves into the intricacies of social media communication and interaction, the process of unraveling the fascinating ways in which individuals navigate these digital spaces, shaping their online personas and influencing the broader social landscape will be ever evolving and interesting to study.