Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Bail, Christopher A

Titel

Emotional Feedback and the Viral Spread of Social Media Messages About Autism Spectrum Disorders

Ist Teil von

• American journal of public health (1971), 2016-07, Vol.106 (7), p.1173-1180

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Public Health Association

Erscheinungsjahr

2016

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• To determine whether exchanges of emotional language between health advocacy organizations and social media users predict the spread of posts about autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). I created a Facebook application that tracked views of ASD advocacy organizations' posts between July 19, 2011, and December 18, 2012. I evaluated the association between exchanges of emotional language and viral views of posts, controlling for additional characteristics of posts, the organizations that produced them, the social media users who viewed them, and the broader social environment. Exchanges of emotional language between advocacy organizations and social media users are strongly associated with viral views of posts. Social media outreach may be more successful if organizations invite emotional dialogue instead of simply conveying information about ASDs. Yet exchanges of angry language may contribute to the viral spread of misinformation, such as the rumor that vaccines cause ASDs.