A Sad Truth: Social Media Rewards Us for Acting Badly
Our negativity sells advertising for them while polarizing societyHere’s the dismal report, from the University of Cambridge, about when we are likely to “share” information: Social media posts about the “political outgroup” — criticizing or mocking those on the opposing side of an ideological divide — receive twice as many shares as posts that champion people or organizations from one’s own political tribe. This is according to a study led by University of Cambridge psychologists, who analyzed over 2.7 million Tweets and Facebook posts published by either US media outlets or Members of Congress from across the political spectrum. Researchers also found that each additional word referencing a rival politician or competing worldview (e.g. ‘Biden’ or ‘Liberal’ if coming from a Republican source) increased the odds of a Read More ›
