Too much of what? Two-wave panel evidence for selective (de-)sensitization through frequent exposure to different kinds of digital hate

Abstract Digital hate has become an inevitable aspect of daily life for social media users, constituting a formidable societal challenge. Despite broad consensus of related harms, researchers have struggled to predict users’ intervening activity and moderation preferences, especially given that they are subject to temporal changes. A two-wave panel survey was conducted to investigate how exposure frequency to incivility, intolerance, and threats is associated over time with (de-)sensitization regarding perceived severity, different intervention activities, and content moderation preferences, while also considering free-speech attitudes as a moderating factor. Results provide evidence for both consistent and selective (de-)sensitization over time across response and hate types. Most notably and contrary to popular desensitization narratives, users demonstrated heightened awareness and engagement when confronted with hateful content more frequently, actively intervening through reactions, comments, or private messages. Overall, these findings give reason for hope that users may become increasingly sensitive and engaged in combating digital hate.