Unlike the more observable phenomenon of group opinion reinforcement, self-censorship online has received comparatively less attention. Our goal in this work is to dissect the phenomena of self-censorship and to examine the implications of restrained expression for participation in public discourse, particularly in polarized contexts. We explore how social media users express their opinions online through analyses of 390 survey responses and 20 semi-structured interviews using a mixed-methods approach. We ask social media users about the differences between their publicly shared opinions and privately held beliefs, highlighting the influence of contextual factors on self-expression. Our findings show that self-censorship is associated with community context; social media users embedded within larger audiences, with lower posting frequency and perceived support, are less likely to express their opinions, and those who do speak often adjust their expressed views to align with perceived group norms. The study complements the rich literature on echo chambers and opinion reinforcement on social media platforms, highlighting the silence within the noise and its potential consequences for public discourse, which have become increasingly pertinent in an era where online platforms are pivotal to social and political narratives.

翻译：相较于更为显见的群体意见强化现象，网络自我审查受到的关注相对较少。本研究旨在剖析自我审查现象，并探讨在意见两极化的背景下，克制表达对公众话语参与的影响。我们采用混合研究方法，通过分析390份调查问卷和20次半结构化访谈，探究社交媒体用户如何在线上表达意见。我们向用户询问其公开意见与私下信念之间的差异，重点凸显情境因素对自我表达的影响。研究发现表明，自我审查与社群环境密切相关；身处更大受众群体、发帖频率较低且感知支持较少的社交媒体用户，更不倾向于表达自身观点，而发声者往往调整其公开言论以符合感知到的群体规范。本研究补充了关于社交媒体平台回声室效应与意见强化的丰富文献，揭示了喧哗中的沉默及其对公众话语的潜在影响——在在线平台日益主导社会与政治叙事的时代，这一点显得愈发重要。