The Echoes of Ostracism and Peer Opinion in Subjective Tasks: Untangling Conformity Dynamics in Social Media through Experimental Exploration

Computer-mediated communication, especially on social media platforms, introduces unique challenges related to online ostracism—where individuals feel ignored or excluded due to minimal social signals such as “likes” on a social media post. Ostracism not only has harmful implications for users’ mental health but also influences their subsequent behavior, such as conformity. However, few studies have explored the behavioral consequences of ostracism in the social media context where individuals encounter vast amounts of subjective information. In this study, drawing from the ostracism and conformity literature, we experimentally investigate the relationship between online ostracism and conformity behavior on subjective tasks. Our findings suggest that conformity behavior can be easily triggered on social media platforms with online ostracism playing a significant role as a facilitator under certain conditions. Moreover, our results indicate that conformity behavior depends on the importance of the conformity task. Our study has significant implications for understanding how social media-specific design features and psychological processes in online environments impact individual behavior, social dynamics, and group decision making.