Coping With Digital Hostility: How Witnessing and Receiving Hate Speech Elicit Divergent Responses

Online hate speech is a pervasive form of digital aggression that shapes engagement and communication in online communities. Prior studies have seldom differentiated exposure pathways within the same context, limiting understanding of how distinct experiences shape user behavior. This study distinguishes between indirect exposure, where users witness hate speech directed at others, and direct victimization, where users personally receive it. Using large-scale user behavioral data from a major Chinese social platform, we analyze how these experiences affect content production, social interaction, and antisocial expression. The findings show that witnessing and receiving hate speech trigger distinct and lasting behavioral patterns, with the intensity of hate speech further moderating these effects. User tenure also differentiates these dynamics: new users show a higher propensity for hate expression, while long-term users display stronger persistence in behavioral adjustments. These results extend Stress and Coping Theory to the domain of online hate speech, emphasizing exposure mode as a key factor in stress appraisal and offering insights for community governance.