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Emotions shared on Facebook are contagious

According to a new study, happiness and other emotions shared online through social networks are contagious. 

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According to a new study, happiness and other emotions shared online through social networks are contagious.

The study discovered emotions can be transferred directly from one person to another through social media.

Researchers collected anonymous data from Facebook users for 1180 days between Jan. 2009 to March 2012. To protect the privacy of the participants, researchers did not personally view any names of users. 

To measure the emotional expressions, "states updates" or "posts" were used. 

People who "catch" emotions by viewing messages or posts can experience these feelings for seconds and even months.  

The findings also unveiled positive posts generated other positive posts and negative posts produced other negative posts. 

Overall,  positive posts spread more than negative ones. 

"For every one happy message that you write, our study suggest that your friends who live in other cities will be influenced by that to write an additional one or two posts themselves," study author James Fowler said.

Climate also influenced whether users wrote "sad" or "happy" posts. 

For example, rainy days affected the emotional content in status updates that also affected Facebook posts of friends in other cities who are not experiencing rainfall. 

"Such facial expressions and positive emotions enhance social relations by producing analogous pleasurable feelings in others, by rewarding the efforts of others, and by encouraging ongoing social contact," Fowler said. 

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