When I Hate to Follow You: Hate-Following, Envy, and Schadenfreude on Instagram

Cleoputri Yusainy, Isma Adila, Ayu Kusumastuti, Ziadatul Hikmiah, Koesrina Rahma Faradisa, Konstantinov Vsevolod Valentinovich
(Submitted 11 May 2023)
(Published 28 December 2023)

Abstract


Popular media has documented an increasing interest in the phenomenon of “hate-following”. The current study explored the utility of hate-following motive, independent of hate, within the framework of dual approach of envy and schadenfreude. Undergraduate Instagram’s users (n = 560, 73.39% females; M age =21.14, SD = 2.04) were asked to recall an envy episode and filled in measures of state envy, hate-following motive, and hate, then read a schadenfreude scenario and completed measure of schadenfreude. We found that both hate-following motive and hate were positively associated with pain of envy, malicious envy, and schadenfreude, but only hate-following motive positively associated with benign envy. While the hate-followers experiences of malicious envy predicted higher schadenfreude, the presence of benign envy predicted lower schadenfreude. These findings highlight the unique contribution of hate-following motive, while at the same time open up many questions as to how this antisocial but nevertheless functional motive may be improved.


Keywords


benign envy; hate; hate-following; malicious envy; schadenfreude

Full Text: PDF

DOI: 10.22146/jpsi.84357

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