Sharing the News - A quantitative study on sharing in social media

Abstract

This study looks into the underlying psychological motivations for sharing in social media. Specifically how high arousal emotions (anger, joy, anxiety, awe), social currency, and practical usefulness affect sharing. A sample of 108 Norwegian newspaper articles, that have been shared on Facebook, are analysed using quantitative content analysis. By replicating Berger and Milkman's method in Why Things Go Viral (2012) I investigate wether their findings are generalisable to a Norwegian cultural context. Findings, although not identical to the original study, show that high arousal emotions, social currency, and practical usefulness are present to a high degree in shared news content. The study has practical applications for anyone who wishes to understand the viral process or to create viral content.