Guided by the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) perspective, this study examined the influence of
unwillingness to communicate, loneliness, Internet-use motives, and Internet (CMC) use and interaction
(amount and types of use and self-disclosure) in online communication satisfaction and online
Social sharing is the act of discussing significant emotional events with others. Using a daily diary methodology,
this study investigated (1) patterns of media use for social sharing; and (2) effects of mediated
social sharing on sharers’ emotions. Results show that easily accessible and non-intrusive media (i.e., texting,
Twitter) were more likely to be used for sharing positive than negative events, and intrusive and rich
media (i.e., phone calling) were more likely to be used for sharing negative than positive events. Highly
intense positive events were more likely to be shared via Twitter than low-intensity positive events, and
highly intense negative events were more likely to be shared face-to-face than low-intensity negative
events. Regardless of the medium used, people experienced increased positive affect after sharing
positive events, and increased negative affect after sharing negative events. The results extend the social
sharing framework, and advance the media use and effects literature.