The impact of emotional expressions on the popularity of discussion threads: evidence from Reddit

What is it about?

This study looks at how emotions affect the popularity of online discussion threads. We found that negativity generally makes threads more popular, but different emotions have unique effects. In COVID-19 discussions, expressing anxiety or sadness makes threads more popular, while anger makes them less popular. In a medical forum, however, both anger and anxiety increase thread popularity, while sadness has no effect. These insights help community members and moderators understand how emotional expressions can shape engagement and impact achieving community goals.

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