"One reason people share news and information is to self-enhance or generate desired impressions. Just like the music people listen to, or the brands they buy, what they talk about and share affects how others see them. Consequently, people are more likely to share things that make them look good or enable them to signal desired identities. Second, people are more likely to share useful information, in part because doing so makes them look smart and in-the-know. If someone tells you about a medication that will quickly cure your cold or a website for last-minute travel deals, it demonstrates the sharer’s knowledge and expertise. Consistent with this perspective, more useful news stories and marketing messages are more likely to be widely shared. Third, positive content is more likely to be shared than negative content. People prefer to make others feel good rather than bad. Further, people prefer to spend time with others who are upbeat and positive and what people share is a reflection of who they are. Consistent with this, people are more likely to share positive New York Times articles and positive advertisements" (Milkman).
These causal reasons for sharing content led to the authors hypothesizing that feel good content would likely be the most shared out content and that depressing content would be less likely to gain viral status; the authors explained, "Awe is characterized by a feeling
of admiration and elevation in the face of something greater
than oneself (e.g., a new scientific discovery, someone overcoming
adversity; see Keltner and Haidt 2003). It is generated
by stimuli that open the mind to unconsidered possibilities,
and the arousal it induces may promote transmission" (Milkman). After examining over 7000 Times pieces the authors were able to conclude that their hypothesis was correct and that the more positive content is, the more likely it is to become viral. The study concluded, "These findings are consistent with our
hypothesis about how arousal shapes social transmission.
Positive and negative emotions characterized by activation
or arousal (i.e., awe, anxiety, and anger) are positively
linked to virality, while emotions characterized by deactivation
(i.e., sadness) are negatively linked to virality" (Milkman). This study directly correlates with the finding of virality on the mentioned social media networks on this website. Most of the 2015 viral posts involved fun, frivolity, and celebrity and nothing garnering negative emotions (except that pesky One Direction break up.)
This study seems to suggest that my absolute best bet at a viral post is to mainly keep doing what I am doing and providing largely positive content and staying away from things that provide negative emotions in my readers. The people on the internet generally want to feel good and sharing content that helps facilitate that emotion is the key to viral success.
