Badnewstravelsfast--whenyouwatchtheeveningnewsorreadthemorningpapersitseemsthatthingsthatgetthemostcoveragearealltragedieslikewarsearthquakesfloodsfiresandmurders.

Thisistheclassicruleformassmedia.“Theywantyoureyeballsanddon’tcarehowyou’refeeling”JonahBergerapsychologistatUniversityofPennsylvaniatoldTheNewYorkTimes.

Butwithsocialmediagettingincreasinglypopularinformationisnowbeingspreadindifferentwaysandresearchersarediscoveringnewrules--goodnewscanactuallyspreadfasterandfartherthandisastersandothersadstories.

BergerandhiscolleagueKatherineMilkmanlookedatthousandsofarticlesonTheNewYorkTimes’websiteandanalyzedthe“moste-mailed”listforsixmonths.

Oneofhisfindingswasthatarticlesinthesciencesectionweremuchmorelikelytomakethelist.Thosestoriesarousedfeelingsofawe(敬畏)andmadethereaderswanttosharethispositiveemotionwithothers.

Besidessciencestoriesreaderswerealsofoundtobelikelytosharearticlesthatwereexcitingorfunny.“Themorepositiveanarticlewasthemorelikelyitwastobeshared”Bergerwroteinhisnewbook.“ForexamplestoriesaboutnewcomersfallinginlovewithNewYorkCity”hewrites“tendedtobesharedmorethanthedeathofapopularzookeeper.”

Butdoesallthisgoodnewsactuallymaketheaudiencefeelbetter?Notnecessarily.

AccordingtoastudybyresearchersatHarvardUniversitypeopletendtosaymorepositivethingsaboutthemselveswhenthey’retalkingtoabiggeraudienceratherthanjustonepersonwhichhelpsexplainalltheperfectvacationsthatkeepshowinguponmicroblogs.Thisresearchersfoundmakespeoplethinkthatlifeisunfairandthatthey’relesshappythantheirfriends.

Butnoworries.There’saquickandeasywaytorelievethedepressionyougetfromviewingotherpeople’sseeminglyperfectlives--turnonthetelevisionandwatchthenews.Thereisalwayssomeonedoingworsethanyouare.

1.Badnewscoversmostpapersbecause.

A.thepubliccareforreadingtragedies

B.thepublicintendtoexpresssympathyforvictims

C.massmediawanttoattractthepublic’sattention

D.massmediaappealto