Feeling moody? Blame YouTube videos for that

We all are aware of the role of the internet in our lives and in shaping our personalities. However, did you know watching those random videos on YouTube could affect your emotional state?

A new study published in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal measured the effects of YouTube videos on the emotional state of the viewers and found that the interrelation is a phenomenon called emotional contagion where the feelings move online from one person to another just as they do in physical environments.

The researchers conclude that just like catching the flu from the people around you, contracting a mood from the media, in this case, videos, you consume is also possible. With videos, there is either a short-term contagion or a more sustained contagion.

So YouTubers posting positive videos will lead to heightened positive emotions in the audience while negative videos will lead to a similar emotional state. Given that there are about 5 billion YouTube videos being viewed daily, the findings are significant.