Digital interaction and power dynamics: A netnographic study in three Facebook groups

Abstract

This netnographic study examines how participant roles, group norms, and platform affordances shape interaction and power dynamics in three purposively selected Swedish Facebook groups. Grounded in sociocultural theory and Goffman's dramaturgical framework, the study combines prolonged, multi-phase observation with comparative and sequential analysis of posts, comments, reactions, moderation practices, and other visible platform features. Three interaction styles were identified across the cases in different configurations: resistance, support, and nuance. The analysis foregrounds a conflictual thread in Rivals, a community-building thread in Guardians, and a contested attempt to introduce complexity in Stakeholders. These examples represent prominent interactional patterns rather than internally homogeneous group cultures. The study shows how gate-keepers, initiators, textual contributors, and reactive engagers shape participation by regulating access and tone, framing discussion topics, producing textual responses, and signaling alignment or disapproval through reactions. Emojis, comment threading, moderation tools, group rules, and visibility mechanisms mediate how positions are amplified, challenged, or marginalized. The findings show that power in Facebook groups is distributed across formal moderation, participant performances, reaction-based validation, and platform structures. The study contributes an empirically grounded and methodologically transparent account of how social and technological conditions jointly organize interaction within online communities.