Abstract
This study looks into the underlying psychological motivations for sharing in social media. Specifically how high arousal emotions (anger, joy, anxiety, awe), social currency, and practical usefulness affect sharing. A sample of 108 Norwegian newspaper articles, that have been shared on Facebook, are analysed using quantitative content analysis. By replicating Berger and Milkman's method in Why Things Go Viral (2012) I investigate wether their findings are generalisable to a Norwegian cultural context. Findings, although not identical to the original study, show that high arousal emotions, social currency, and practical usefulness are present to a high degree in shared news content. The study has practical applications for anyone who wishes to understand the viral process or to create viral content.