One summer student’s exploration of social media virality

This summer, third-year Communications and Media Studies undergrad Evangeline Dorval immersed herself in a research project exploring moral emotions — those like pride, guilt, compassion and gratitude — in content outreach across short-form video platforms thanks to a Program for Undergraduate Research Experiences (PURE) award.

Inspired by William Brady’s 2017 publication, Emotion Shapes the Diffusion of Moralized Content in Social Networks, Dorval explores whether Brady's theory holds true on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Dorval created and posted videos with both unbiased themes and morally divisive messages, and then analyzed the performance and outreach of these videos over two weeks. Her project, “How to Go Viral: Testing a Communication Theory,” was supervised by Faculty of Arts associate professor Dr. Ali Karimi, PhD, and will culminate in an informational video essay.

Through participating in PURE, Dorval bridged her academic interests and personal passions. Despite a busy schedule filled with research and coursework, Dorval actively participates in the Calgary art scene — making multimedia art and zines, attending punk shows, and volunteering at the CJSW station, all while balancing her summer research.

A day in the life of a researcher

Dorval’s daily research routine has been dynamic, beginning with planning and refining ideas for her short-form videos and leading up to the conceptualization of her final video essay. She described the day-to-day life of a researcher as varied and evolving.

“My days have looked a few different ways throughout my research journey. Some days were focused on content creation, where I would be filming and editing short-form videos for my experiment," says Dorval. "Many were—and are—focused on reading studies, listening to podcasts and watching videos related to social media algorithms, short-form content, virality, and misinformation.” 

Recently, her focus has shifted to crafting her final video, which integrates data from her experiment with insights from her extensive background research.

Embracing complexity and celebrating success

Dorval discovered that the complexity of her research was a surprising but exciting challenge, revealing the depth of knowledge required in studying internet virality.

She emphasized that while research projects may seem daunting, the invaluable guidance from mentors and the rewards of personal and academic growth make the endeavor truly worthwhile.

"My biggest accomplishment when it comes to my summer research journey is crafting a project that seems to hold such relevance to the online lives of my peers, as well as my own.”

Transformative growth and future aspirations 

“This research project has opened a completely new approach to learning for me,” Dorval says. 

This fresh perspective has not only deepened her academic understanding which she plans to utilize in the remainder of her studies, but it has also fuelled her enthusiasm for future research and study.

When asked about what she would say to another student considering doing a summer research project, Dorval advised, “don’t be afraid to take the leap!”