Negativity drives online news consumption
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4615985 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Carol E Robertson (0000-0001-8403-6358, New York University), Nicolas Pröllochs (0000-0002-1835-7302, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), Kaoru Schwarzenegger (ETH Zurich), Philip Pärnamets (0000-0001-8360-9097, Karolinska Institutet), Jay J Van Bavel (0000-0003-2172-1184, New York University, corresponding author), Stefan Feuerriegel (0000-0001-7856-8729, LMU Klinikum, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 812-822 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nature Human Behaviour (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2397-3374 • E-ISSN: 2397-3374 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41562-023-01538-4 |
| PMID | 36928780 |
| OpenAlex | W4327568915 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 86 |
| References cited | 65 |
Online media is important for society in informing and shaping opinions, hence raising the question of what drives online news consumption. Here we analyse the causal effect of negative and emotional words on news consumption using a large online dataset of viral news stories. Specifically, we conducted our analyses using a series of randomized controlled trials (N = 22,743). Our dataset comprises ~105,000 different variations of news stories from Upworthy.com that generated ∼5.7 million clicks across more than 370 million overall impressions. Although positive words were slightly more prevalent than negative words, we found that negative words in news headlines increased consumption rates (and positive words decreased consumption rates). For a headline of average length, each additional negative word increased the click-through rate by 2.3%. Our results contribute to a better understanding of why users engage with online media
Advertising · Business · Headline · Linguistics · Negativity effect · Sociology · Media Influence and Health · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 86 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 28,67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 82 |