Social Transmission of Online Content about Environmental and Technological Risk: A Study of the Factors Determining the Online Transmission of Risk Information

Abstract

Why certain pieces of online content about environmental and technological risks are more viral than others? This report analyses the mechanisms underlying social transmission of media content about risks through Internet social networks. The study is based on a quantitative content analysis of a sample of newspaper articles on risk issues. We specifically examine the impact of content characteristics (emotionality) and the characteristics of the risk (type, impact and scope) in the social transmission. The results first show that the majority of articles about risk issues are not shared by readers, while a few of them have a very high social transmission. Second, that the emotions generated by the content are significantly associated with the transmission of the articles. Third, that the characteristics of the risk also have a moderate influence on the transmission of the content, but this effect appears to be statistically non-significant for most of the studied variables. Results are discussed with existing studies on the social amplification of risk as well as on content virality and interpersonal communication.