Viral content: Why do we share on social media?

Japanese billionaire and future space tourist Yusaku Maezawa’s Saturday tweet promising a cash giveaway of one million yen each (about Dh33,700) to 100 randomly selected followers who had retweeted it by Monday is now officially the most retweeted tweet, displacing Carter Wilkerson’s RT plea for free chicken nuggets in 2017. Moral of the story? Hard cash for self beats Wendy’s chicken nuggets for some stranger hands down. Especially on social media. Be that as it may, it says volumes about the triggers that make us share. Sharing is caring, we were told as kids and we now tell our kids. But who were these 5.5 million people caring for when they retweeted Maezawa san’s tweet? In fact, all these people were following one of the five typical reasons why people share on social media. According to research conducted by The

New York Times in cooperation with Customer Insight Group and Latitude Research, there are five basic reasons why we share on social media: To bring valuable content to others, to define ourselves, to get and stay connected, for self-fulfilment (this is what the re-tweeters were after), and to support causes and brands. That may be a broad generalisation, but it does ring true. Most social media users, however, will agree that instant gratification (based on likes and retweets) is one of the primary drivers behind the urge to share. Venting your feelings — against a trend you don’t like, against brands, even against individuals — is another growing reason. Don’t look now, but an analysis of US President Donald Trump’s tweets may clarify some of these points.

Some others share for the positivity of the experience while plenty of people share for entertainment — when they find something they enjoy watching or reading. But self-expression and the need to confess and confide is a basic human urge — one that social media was born to fulfil. It’s called social media for that reason alone.