ScienceDaily: What makes us share posts on social media?
“A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Generalled by University of Pennsylvania researchers Danielle Cosme and Emily Falk analyzed the behavior of more than 3,000 individuals to explore the psychology behind sharing information online. It turns out that the answer is quite straightforward: People share information that they feel is meaningful to themselves or to the people they know. Cosme and her team test what contributes to "value-based virality" -- essentially that information on the internet can go viral because people find it inherently valuable, either to themselves or to society.
This finding is key to crafting effective messaging for social causes, says Cosme, a research director at the Annenberg School for Communication's Communication Neuroscience Lab. Knowing the psychological ingredients that make a person share a post on social media can help scientists share facts about climate change or public health officials dispel myths about vaccines.
Cosme's research shows that people pay more attention to information they perceive to be related to themselves.
Similarly, humans are social beings and love to connect with each other. Sharing information activates reward centers in our brain. And when we communicate with others, we consider what the other person is thinking or wants to hear -- a quality known as social relevance.”
Some Insights From This Article
Why do we use social media to share information and updates to other people? Researchers showed that social media is an extension of our desire to show others and give impressions to others of what we think is important and what we find interesting.
Additionally we also consider what our audiences want to see. Specifically called social relevance, before posting we may consider how our audiences online will respond to a specific post and gauge the best outcomes from what could happen. Hence why caption, content, feed aesthetic has become aspects of social media that people tailor to their audiences.
Full article is here!
What do you like posting on social media? What do you primarily use it for?
#SocialMedia #Sharing #Relevance.
I think in general people like to paint rosy pictures of themselves and their lives OR the pity party hoping others will reach out and help
when i use to use social media i did neither ..... i posted birthday wishes to others and occasionally comments but sound like the "study" done was biased because most do not either SEE their posts the way others do. example : the overly gushing cations on photos when others know your "fabulous" husband is a mean drunk and cheating on you makes them look pathetic
I hope many like myself quit using it as it has only caused issues with false perceptions and keeping up with so and so expectations.
@toughTiger6481
That's a very great observation that you bring up. It's almost sad on how social media can exacerbate and create these situations. I agree I think using social media to perpetuate false perceptions and expectations on an ideal life can only lead to negative consequences.
@sunnyWriting4806 It is true that people usually want to share their interests with others. However there is one side of the media that is pure self-projection, especially for the past few years. It is important to remember that we should do what we really enjoy and not do things just to show them to other people, as this can lead to distress and unhappiness. Thank you for the post!
@calmDew1576
Agreed. when social media first came out it was mostly a media to share to others life updates and share cool times you experienced. Nowadays it's a lot more complex than that and we have to think about our intentions and the dynamic that goes on online before posting.
@sunnyWriting4806 I really like sharing life updates and photos on social media. Honestly, I mostly like to use it for myself to keep track of all my special moments throughout the years! I also like to use it to keep in touch with family and friends. It can be hard to not get caught up in the "likes" and not comparing yourself to others, but we just have to set limits and keep boundaries 😊
@fruityPond7887
With limits and boundaries, social media can definitely be used in a safe and healthy way!
@sunnyWriting4806 I agree!