Researchers tracked emoticons embedded in millions of messages posted on Sina Weibo, a popular Twitter-like microblogging platform. Their conclusion: Joy moves faster than sadness or disgust, but nothing is speedier than rage. The researchers found that users reacted most angrily to reports concerning “social problems and diplomatic issues”.
Sina Weibo is one of the only venues where the Chinese can circumvent government restrictions on traditional forms of media. The study’s authors say users passed along these messages not only to “express their anger” but to instill a similar sense of outrage.
Sadness, they observed (perhaps unsurprisingly), was a “deactivating” emotion. Unlike anger, people tend to power down and withdraw. The one emotion that outpaced anger was awe.