Project Grant 2214203

AFFECTIVE VIRALITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: THE ROLE OF CULTURE AND IDEAL AFFECT -SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ALLOW PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS MORE QUICKLY THAN EVER. WHILE THIS CONVENIENCE AND SPEED HAS BENEFITS, IT ALSO HAS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIETAL COSTS. FOR INSTANCE, RESEARCH ON SOCIAL MEDIA USERS IN THE UNITED STATES (US) SUGGESTS THAT EXPRESSIONS OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS (E.G., HAPPINESS) ON SOCIAL MEDIA CAN MAKE OTHER USERS FEEL DEPRESSED, ANXIOUS, AND THAT THEY ARE MISSING OUT, WHILE EXPRESSIONS OF NEGATIVE EMOTIONS (E.G., DISGUST, FEAR, AND ANGER) CAN INCREASE THE SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION AND INTENSIFY POLITICAL POLARIZATION. COMBATING THESE POTENTIAL COSTS REQUIRES UNDERSTANDING THE UNIQUE CULTURAL AND EMOTION-CONTENT SIGNATURES OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE. IN THE US, USERS POST MORE POSITIVE EMOTIONAL CONTENT, AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL CONTENT IS STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH MISINFORMATION AND POLITICAL POLARIZATION. THIS RESEARCH TESTS THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THESE EMOTIONAL PATTERNS REFLECT AMERICAN CULTURAL VALUES IN GENERAL AND AN AMERICAN EMPHASIS ON POSITIVITY IN PARTICULAR. TO TEST THESE CULTURALLY-EMBEDDED PREDICTIONS, THE RESEARCH EXAMINES THE PREVALENCE AND SPREAD OF EMOTIONAL CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE US AND JAPAN. RESEARCH FINDINGS CAN INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS TO COMBAT THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL CONTENT ON USERS. THIS RESEARCH SPECIFICALLY EXAMINES THE PREVALENCE AND SPREAD OF EMOTIONAL CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH THE WELL-BEING OF USERS, SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MISINFORMATION, AND POLITICAL POLARIZATION IN THE US AND JAPAN. STUDY 1 USES COMPUTATIONAL METHODS TO COMPARE THE SPREAD OF EMOTIONAL NEWS POSTS IN US AND JAPANESE SOCIAL MEDIA. STUDIES 2A-B USE SURVEY AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS TO EXAMINE HOW USERS' CULTURAL VALUES INFLUENCE THE PREVALENCE AND SPREAD OF EMOTIONAL CONTENT. STUDY 3 EXAMINES A POTENTIAL REMEDY, TESTING WHETHER A TOOL THAT ALLOWS USERS TO CONTROL THEIR EXPOSURE TO EMOTION CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA CAN INCREASE THEIR WELL-BEING, DECREASE THEIR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MISINFORMATION, AND INCREASE THEIR EMPATHY WITH POLITICAL OUTGROUPS. THESE STUDIES CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEFENSES TO PROTECT AGAINST THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.