Emotions in the Digital World: Exploring Affective Experience and Expression in Online Interactions

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. Read more