The Influence of Online Group Identity on Individual Behavioral Decision-Making in the New Media Era

Institute of Education, University College London, WC1E 6BT London, UK

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The increasing dominance of online communities in determining individual behaviour has received a lot of academic interest in recent years. This paper examines how online group identity can be used to regulate individual decisions within the digital media space. The analysis is founded on social identity theory and social influence theory by looking at the interaction of group norms, conformity dynamics, information circulation, and opinion leaders’ roles in social media ecosystems. The recent research data show that these factors hardly work independently. Rather, platform architecture, algorithmic visibility, and the strength of psychological identification with online communities all serve to amplify the role played by group identity in influencing choice of behaviour. The discussion reveals that the process of making decisions in online settings is informed by both the information presented and the presence of social cues in the online interaction. The paper suggests some methods of reaching more independent decision-making in digital spaces based on these findings, such as the promotion of critical digital literacy, the advocacy of diversified identity belonging, and the creation of platform designs that promote reflexive interaction.