Emotional Communication and Polarization on Social Media Platforms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61173/1ja2sy28Keywords:
emotional communication, social mediac, affective polarization, echo chambers, algorithmic influence, group identity, misinformation, emotional contagionAbstract
Social media platforms shape emotional communication and influence how people interact. Emotional content spreads faster than neutral content. Users respond with likes, shares, and comments. These actions turn emotion into a system of signals. Algorithms increase the visibility of emotional messages and create echo chambers. Users form group identity through emotional markers, symbols, and narratives. Emotional communication creates division between groups and increases affective polarization. Researchers observe emotional contagion, identity formation, algorithmic influence, and misinformation spread. Efforts to reduce polarization include platform moderation, regulation, fact-checking, and digital literacy. Future work can explore emotional behavior across cultures, age groups, new platforms, and design solutions. Emotional communication remains a central force in digital society and continues to shape online behavior.
References
M. J. (2021). How social learning amplifies moral outrage expression in online social networks. Science Advances, 7(33), eabe5641. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe5641 Brady, W. J., Wills, J. A., Jost, J. T., Tucker, J. A., & Van
Bavel, J. J. (2017). Emotion shapes the diffusion of moralized content in social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(28), 7313–7318. https:// doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1618923114
Bucher, T. (2018). If… Then: Algorithmic power and politics. Oxford University Press. Cinelli, M., Morales, G. D. F., Galeazzi, A., Quattrocioc-
chi, W., & Starnini, M. (2021). The echo chamber effect on social media. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(9), e2023301118. https://doi.org/10.1073/ pnas.2023301118 Dean&Francis Yuham Zhang
European Commission. (2022). Digital Services Act: Rules for online platforms. Publications Office of the European Union. Guess, A., Lerner, M., Lyons, B., Montgomery, J. M.,
Nyhan, B., Reifler, J., & Sircar, N. (2020). A digital media literacy intervention increases discernment between mainstream and false news in the United States and India. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(27), 15536–15545. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920498117 Iyengar, S., Lelkes, Y., Levendusky, M., Malhotra, N., &
Westwood, S. J. (2019). The origins and consequences of affective polarization in the United States. Annual Review of Political Science, 22, 129–146. https://doi.org/10.1146/ annurev-polisci-051117-073034
Kaye, L. K., Chen, C., & Zeng, J. (2021). The psychology of TikTok: A systematic review. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24(11), 1–9. Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., &
Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241–251. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005
Kramer, A. D. I., Guillory, J. E., & Hancock, J. T. (2014). Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(24), 8788–8790. https://doi. org/10.1073/pnas.1320040111
Lim, D. (2020). Emotion in digital communication across cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 51(7), 547–566. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022120933254 Lindquist, K. A., Satpute, A. B., Wager, T. D., Weber, J., & Barrett, L. F. (2012). The brain basis of emotion: A meta-analytic review. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(3), 121–143. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X11000446
Meta Oversight Board. (2022). Content moderation annual report. Meta Platforms Inc. Miers, A. C., Blöte, A. W., Bokhorst, C. L., & Westenberg,
P. M. (2021). Age differences in emotional expression online. Journal of Adolescence, 89, 1–10.
Pennycook, G., & Rand, D. G. (2019). Reducing misinformation online. Psychological Science, 30(11), 1874–1887.
Rathje, S., Van Bavel, J. J., & van der Linden, S. (2021). Out-group animosity drives engagement on social media. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(26), e2024292118. https://doi.org/10.1073/ pnas.2024292118
Schöne, J., Parkinson, C., & Turner, B. O. (2021). The emotional impact of repeated exposure to social media posts. Journal of Media Psychology, 33(3), 119–129. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000290
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Nelson-Hall.
Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., & Aral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. Science, 359(6380), 1146– 1151. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559
Yarchi, M., Baden, C., & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2021). Political polarization on social media: A comparative analysis. Communication Research, 48(2), 169–197.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 by the authors.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
