When Moods Go Viral

"Many of us log on to stay informed. We often turn to media not only to stay informed, but to manage uncertainty, regulate anxiety, and feel a sense of control when the world feels unpredictable. Some of us are seeking belonging. Yet more often than not, we log off feeling heavier, more anxious, more irritable, and more certain that others are misguided, dangerous, or guilty."

"Emotional contagion was initially understood as a relational process in which we absorb emotions through nonverbal cues (e.g., gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, body posture) and shared environments. From an evolutionary standpoint, this process helped us survive by allowing us to quickly determine threat or safety within a group. It also fostered and strengthened relationships by curating empathy, increasing our willingness to help one another."

"In digital spaces, we are no longer emotionally attuned to a handful of people we know well and interact with regularly. Instead, we are exposed to hundreds or even thousands of emotionally laden messages each day, many of which are specifically targeted at us. Research has now shown that emotional states can spread through online networks even without direct interaction via text alone (Ferrara & Yang, 2015)."

Many people log on to stay informed, manage uncertainty, regulate anxiety, feel control, or seek belonging. Users often log off feeling heavier, more anxious, more irritable, and more convinced that others are misguided, dangerous, or guilty. That emotional shift accumulates through repeated exposure to emotionally charged content rather than conscious choice. Psychology calls this emotional contagion, a tendency to catch others' emotions as they spread person-to-person, often without awareness. Emotional contagion originally operated through nonverbal cues and shared environments, aiding threat detection and fostering empathy. In digital spaces, exposure expands to hundreds or thousands of emotionally laden messages daily, and emotional states can spread through online networks via text, shifting moods according to feed tone.

Read at Psychology Today