Exploring the Role of User Participation in Emotional Contagion and Coping in Cancer Vlog Communities on YouTube

Despite the increasing popularity of video blogging (vlogging) among patients with chronic illnesses, little is known about emotional exchange as a fundamental source of social support on YouTube for patients coping with cancer. We investigated the phenomenon known as emotional contagion on eight cancer vlog channels and the potential mediating role of two types of user participation (i.e. commenting and liking) in emotional contagion. Path analysis of sentiment scores and the number of video likes and comments obtained from transcripts of 529 cancer vlog videos and 194,104 associated comments revealed (a) direct emotional contagion from vloggers to viewers for negative emotions only and (b) indirect emotional contagion for positive emotions via commenting among viewers. Commenting appeared to facilitate positive emotions while suppressing negative emotions among viewers, whereas liking was more likely to generate negative emotions among viewers. Our findings suggest that user contribution enhanced emotional support by facilitating emotional contagion in cancer vlog communities. At the same time, commenting and liking operated differently in this emotional contagion process due to differing amounts of cognitive investment required for each action on YouTube.