The mechanisms and consequences of sharing affective content on social media

Thesis

The internet and especially social media has become one of our new natural habitats that we use daily to communicate with our peers and to get the latest news. Similar to their offline conversations, people online frequently use affective expressions to share their opinions or feelings about current events. However, unlike face-to-face co-present interactions, online content can reach a larger audience simply by being shared with followers with a click of the mouse. Since social media can reach such a wide audience, it is crucial to understand the types of content that users create and share and their potential beneficial or harmful impact. Despite the prevalence of social media in our daily lives, these questions have yet to be answered conclusively. Hence, the primary objective of my thesis is to address these gaps by examining the prevalence of affective content and its implications for expressing and viewing such content. Chapter 1 of this thesis provides an overview of definitions and measurement methods relating to online affective content, a review of previous research that aimed to answer the two questions raised above, and a discussion of the remaining research gaps that will be addressed throughout this thesis. In Chapter 2, I present an investigation into the kinds of affective content that are shared more when produced by public figures and ordinary users and assess which user characteristics influence the extent to which these kinds of affective content are shared. Building on these insights, Chapter 3 delves into the question of whether negativity is more prevalent than positivity in all political events and what specific language features contribute to the sharing of certain kinds of affective content. In Chapter 4, I aimed to address both of the overarching questions by investigating the types of affective content created and shared during an ongoing negative, but non-political event. Additionally, I explored the potential affective consequences of sharing such content on social media. To explore the impact of exposure to affective expressions on social media, Chapter 5 delved into the process of perceiving sequential affective expressions as they appear on social media. Finally, in Chapter 6, I synthesize my findings with relevant literature and develop a comprehensive framework to explain the process of exposure to affective content on social media and its consequences. Furthermore, I discuss potential future research directions to advance our understanding in this area. Overall, this thesis provides insight into the types of affective content that are more likely to be created and shared in various contexts and by different content producers. In addition, it provides functional explanations for why people might share affective content on social media and explores the potentially harmful consequences of sequential exposure to such content on these platforms.

Authors: Schöne, JP

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-6gm0rkjrx
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: emotion; sequential perception; social sharing; affective content; twitter; social media
• Subjects: Social media; emotion