Facebook Confirms the Network's Massive-Scale Emotional Contagion
A giant Facebook experiment found that emotions expressed by others influence our own emotions, resulting in massive-scale contagion via social networks.
A new experiment by Facebook’s data scientists confirmed the network’s massive influence on users’ positive and negative mood states.
According to the study, “emotional states can be transferred to others via emotional contagion, leading people to experience the same emotions without their awareness.”
Emotional contagion occurred without direct interaction and in the absence of nonverbal cues. Users were affected by simply being exposed to others’ status updates and posts.
Previous studies have found that using Facebook produces both positive and negative affects on users’ mental health.
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