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Some Feelings Make Us Comment, While Others Make Us Share

First let’s make sure we know the difference between feelings and emotions:

Emotions → actual biological and psychological response that our body generates
Feelings → how we label and describe these emotions / responses

To understand feelings better, psychologists often use something called the Valence–Arousal–Dominance model (VAD).

The VAD model

Valence tells us whether the emotional tone is pleasant or unpleasant
Arousal tells us how much energy the feeling carries, and
Dominance tells us whether the reader (the content consumer) feels in control or overwhelmed

Together, they can help explain why a mildly useful post may be saved but not shared, why an outrageous post may get hundreds of comments, why an inspiring story travels across networks, and why negative news can spread even when it makes people feel bad.

Valence

Valence is about whether the feeling is pleasant or unpleasant.

Joy, amusement, pride, gratitude, relief, love, and inspiration are positive-valence feelings. Fear, anger, sadness, disgust, shame, guilt, and frustration are negative-valence feelings.

This is the easiest axis to understand because it is basically the emotional good-to-bad scale. Did the content make me feel good or bad? Warm or disturbed? Hopeful or unsettled?

Arousal

High-energy → high on arousal and vice-versa.

Some feelings are high-energy: anger, fear, excitement, awe, panic, surprise. They wake the body up. They push you toward action. They create an urge to respond.

Other feelings are low-energy: calm, sadness, contentment, boredom, resignation, relief. These feelings are slower. They may still be meaningful, but they do not always create an immediate urge to act.