The Role of Shared Emotions in the Construction of the Cyberculture: From Cultural Industries to Cultural Actions: The Case of Crowdfunding

Abstract

Emotions have different origins and consequences. Mass media producers and advertisements transmit emotions to convince audiences to buy their products or services. In this context, citizens can feel or not feel the emotions presented by applying empathy because those emotions belong to a reality, which is not theirs. Since the widespread of the Internet, citizens are not just an audience, but are also users who create, publish, and share content through the wide range of platforms available in cyberspace. Within the virtual environment, emotions are shared and are visible through the collective creation and the rejection of political decisions. We will analyze how online communications provide the possibilities to share emotions, thereby allowing users to create and to share both emotions and knowledge through crowdfunding as a way to develop cultural products, actions, and initiatives that, without this financial form could be very difficult to achieve.