Study Finds That Anger Spreads Further Than Joy on Social Networks

Want to get your message heard on a social network? Try raging about it. China's Beihang University has published a study of Sina Weibo users which suggests that anger-fueled online posts have more of an influence than those reflecting other emotions.

During the research period, a typical bitter comment would affect posts three degrees removed from the original; joy had a muted impact, while disgust and sadness hardly got any traction. Don't be too quick to lament the human condition, though. 

As researchers note, many of the angry posts were triggered by politics in Weibo's native China. There's a chance that internet denizens on other social networks have a rosier outlook on life.

[Image credit: Wayne Marshall, Flickr]


VIA: MIT Technology Review

SOURCE: Cornell University Library

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