In the digital swirl of Facebook status updates, emotions expressed online can be contagious, according to a new study encompassing more than 100 million people in the U.S. and a billion messages they posted.Moreover, upbeat messages were far more likely than negative ones to affect the mood of others online, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, Yale University and Facebook Inc. reported Wednesday in one of the largest public studies of the social network to date.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303546204579435550002436002Also see:Study: Social networks like Facebook can spread moods
A study by researchers at the University of California, Yale, and Facebook has found that moods can spread virally through social media sites such as Facebook.Using data from millions of Facebook users, the researchers examined the impact of rainy days.They found that for every one person directly affected by rain, one to two others would also feel the impact.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26556295