Emotions in the Digital World

This edited volume examines the ways in which rapidly changing technologies and patterns of media use influence, and are influenced by, our emotional experiences. Following introductory chapters outlining common conceptual frameworks used in the study of emotion and digital media effects, this book is then organized around four general areas highlighting the intersection of technology use and emotional experience: how people experience, and researchers measure, emotions in response to digital media use; potential emotional harms and enrichments resulting from online behaviors; the socio-emotional dynamics of online interaction; and emotion's role in engagement with online information. Chapters span a wide range of topics, including physiological and neuroscientific responses to new media, virtual reality, social media and well-being, technology addiction, cyberbullying, online hate and empathy, online romantic relationships, self-presentation online, information seeking, message sharing, social support, polarization, misinformation, and more.
Through a social scientific lens, contributing authors provide nuanced, interdisciplinary perspectives on these salient social phenomena, offering cogent reviews and critiques of the literatures and avenues for future research. In essence, this volume highlights the centrality of emotions in understanding how ever-present media technologies influence our lived experiences.

Robin L. Nabi is Professor of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has published over 100 articles and book chapters on the role of emotion in media processes and effects, with particular emphasis on media use and well-being and the persuasive effect of emotion-based messages. She co-edited the SAGE Handbook of Media Processes and Effects and served as a managing editor of Media Psychology. She was inaugurated as a Fellow of the International Communication Association in 2017. Jessica Gall Myrick is Donald P. Bellisario Professor of Health Communication in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University. Her research examines the interplay of emotional and cognitive processes in shaping audience responses to media messages about health, science, and the environment. Myrick also studies the role of media coverage of celebrities and pets in shaping our culture and health-related attitudes and behaviors. Her research has been featured by news outlets across the globe.

PART 1: FOUNDATIONS OF EMOTION AND DIGITAL MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY Ch 1: Perspectives on Emotion in the Digital Age Chris Skurka & Robin L. Nabi Ch 2: Emotions and Technological Affordances Elizabeth Cohen & Jessica Gall Myrick PART II: EXPERIENCING EMOTIONS IN DIGITAL CONTEXTS Ch 3: Psychophysiological Responses to using Digital Media Russell B. Clayton Ch 4: Media and Emotions: Insights from a Neuroscience Perspective Matt Minich, Ran Tao, & Christopher N. Cascio Ch 5: Social Media and the Social Brain Mary E. Andrews, Rui Pei, Nina Lauharatanahirun, Alexandra M. Paul, & Emily B. Falk Ch 6: Computational Sentiment Analysis: Promises and Pitfalls Yotam Ophir & Dror Walter Ch 7: Virtual Reality and Emotion: A 5-year Systematic Review of Empirical Research (2015-2019) David M. Markowitz & Jeremy N. Bailenson PART III: ONLINE WELL-BEING: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Ch 8: Social Media Use, Emotional Experiences, and Well-Being: A Consideration of Anxiety, Depression, and Hope Robin L. Nabi, Lara Wolfers, & Jesse King Ch 9: The Role of Emotion in Maladaptive Internet Use: Internet Addiction, Problematic Internet Use, and Deficient Self-Regulation Stephen A. Rains & Robert S. Tokunaga Ch 10: Online Social Aggression: Harassment and Discrimination Jesse Fox Ch 11: Social Media and Mental Health: Reviewing Effects on Eudaimonic Well-Being Adrian Meier & Leonard Reinecke Ch 12: Online Inspiration Mary Beth Oliver & Arthur A. Raney PART IV: SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DYNAMICS OF ONLINE INTERACTION Ch13: Social Media Self-Presentation and Emotion: Evidence of Selective Self-Presentation, Self-Affirmation, and Social Sharing Catalina L. Toma Ch 14: Online Hate: A Prosocial Explanation of Antisocial Behavior and Affordances of Social Media Joseph B. Walther Ch 15: Media Use and Empathy Marie-Louise Mares & Susan S. Kong Ch 16: Online Emotional Social Support and Coping with Stress and Crises Jessica Gall Myrick, Rachelle L. Pavelko, & Olivia Cohen Ch 17: Social Media, Jealousy, and Romantic Relationships Sonja Utz PART V: ENGAGEMENT WITH ONLINE INFORMATION Ch 18: Emotion and Online Information Selection Kate T. Luong & Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick Ch 19: Emotion, Information Sharing, and Social Media Ariel Hasell & Robin L. Nabi Ch 20: Emotion, Affective Polarization, and Online Communication Yphtach Lelkes & Sean Fischer Ch 21: Emotion, Digital Media, and Misinformation Brian E. Weeks Ch 22: Love Bombs and Twitter Terror: Emotion and Affect in Terrorist Websites and Other Online Media Sean Aday