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Most Read Versus Most Shared: How Less (vs. More) Social Popularity Labels Influence News Media Consumption.

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Title: Most Read Versus Most Shared: How Less (vs. More) Social Popularity Labels Influence News Media Consumption.
Authors: Dagogo-Jack, Sokiente W (AUTHOR), Watson, Jared (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Consumer Research. Feb2026, Vol. 52 Issue 5, p873-891. 19p.
Subject Terms: *News consumption, *Press, *Consumers, *Motivation (Psychology), *Social influence, *Reading, *Information dissemination, *Consumer behavior, *Popularity
Abstract: News outlets commonly highlight the most popular content using different labels (e.g. "most read" and "most shared"). As prior research has found that people primarily consume news for information or entertainment, it is important to understand what these popularity labels convey about the information value and entertainment value of articles and how they shape consumers' news preferences and decisions. Nine lab and field studies, including two in the web appendix , demonstrate that labels reflecting less social behavior (e.g. "most read") signal higher information (vs. entertainment) value, while labels reflecting more social behavior (e.g. "most shared") signal higher entertainment (vs. information) value. Thus, consumers with information motives prefer less social popularity labels, a stronger signal of information value. Conversely, consumers with entertainment motives prefer more social labels, a stronger signal of entertainment value. Notably, an analysis of 120 major media outlets revealed that many use labels that are misaligned with readers' dominant motives or use no label at all, indicating considerable room for improvement. Reassuringly, this work finds that strategically using popularity labels can increase clicks by over 20%. This has implications for media outlets aiming to spur engagement as well as researchers and organizations concerned with information dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Database: Energy & Power Source
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: Most Read Versus Most Shared: How Less (vs. More) Social Popularity Labels Influence News Media Consumption.
– Name: Author
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dagogo-Jack%2C+Sokiente+W%22">Dagogo-Jack, Sokiente W</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Watson%2C+Jared%22">Watson, Jared</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Consumer+Research%22">Journal of Consumer Research</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 52 Issue 5, p873-891. 19p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22News+consumption%22">News consumption</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Press%22">Press</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Consumers%22">Consumers</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motivation+%28Psychology%29%22">Motivation (Psychology)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+influence%22">Social influence</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading%22">Reading</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+dissemination%22">Information dissemination</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Consumer+behavior%22">Consumer behavior</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Popularity%22">Popularity</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: News outlets commonly highlight the most popular content using different labels (e.g. "most read" and "most shared"). As prior research has found that people primarily consume news for information or entertainment, it is important to understand what these popularity labels convey about the information value and entertainment value of articles and how they shape consumers' news preferences and decisions. Nine lab and field studies, including two in the web appendix , demonstrate that labels reflecting less social behavior (e.g. "most read") signal higher information (vs. entertainment) value, while labels reflecting more social behavior (e.g. "most shared") signal higher entertainment (vs. information) value. Thus, consumers with information motives prefer less social popularity labels, a stronger signal of information value. Conversely, consumers with entertainment motives prefer more social labels, a stronger signal of entertainment value. Notably, an analysis of 120 major media outlets revealed that many use labels that are misaligned with readers' dominant motives or use no label at all, indicating considerable room for improvement. Reassuringly, this work finds that strategically using popularity labels can increase clicks by over 20%. This has implications for media outlets aiming to spur engagement as well as researchers and organizations concerned with information dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=enr&AN=191385609
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1093/jcr/ucaf017
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 873
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: News consumption
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Press
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Consumers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Motivation (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social influence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reading
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information dissemination
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Consumer behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Popularity
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Most Read Versus Most Shared: How Less (vs. More) Social Popularity Labels Influence News Media Consumption.
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              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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