Viral sharing is driven by high-arousal emotions, not viewing pleasure

Evidence

Much of what they discovered validated Peretti’s original theories—particularly about the necessity of stimulating “pleasure in the social process of passing” something along and of ensuring that the contagion “represent[s] the simplest form of an idea.” But the “pleasure” of sharing did not necessarily mean that viewing the content had been pleasurable. The urge to share was activated by a spectrum of “high-arousal” emotions, like awe, outrage, and anxiety. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1070

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to later attention-economy critiques and to the psychology of shareable content—echoes themes in the reader’s platform/surveillance readings about emotional manipulation. — connects to: Internet virality can reward despised content as strongly as admired content — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 294; Emotions function as thermometers of the attentional ecosystem between persons — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 266; Online, negative emotions are easier to generate than positive ones, biasing engagement — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 397 (+1 more)
• DEFINE: Defines the contagion theory of virality as a function of emotional arousal rather than content quality.

Broader Connections

• Internet virality can reward despised content as strongly as admired content #qualifies (0.85) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 294
• Online, negative emotions are easier to generate than positive ones, biasing engagement #expands (0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 397
• Emotions function as thermometers of the attentional ecosystem between persons #expands (0.78) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 266