Emotional Spam: A Nuisance on Facebook Groups

Emotional spam

Roger-Luc Chayer (Image: AI – Gay Globe)

Who hasn’t been annoyed by the continuous posting of messages that have no relevance to the goals of a Facebook group? These messages, often simple « hello, » « kisses to all, » « good coffee this morning, » « happy Monday to everyone, » or « good sunset and sweet dreams, » often receive no response or attention.

These posts, typically featuring unicorn images with hearts or little flowers in LGBTQ+ colors, often come from the same members and can appear 2 to 6 times a day. At times, it feels as though they were written by 12-year-olds seeking attention. This behavior proliferates in Facebook groups, polluting the atmosphere and the discussion threads. This is known as « emotional spam. »

The Loneliness of the Web

Even though the Internet has been the ultimate tool for socialization since the 1990s, some individuals, isolated in their daily lives, use it to send messages simply to escape their loneliness. For them, the responses from other members don’t really matter; what’s important is the illusion of being in communication, even if it’s with no one in particular.

The problem with this type of behavior is that it pollutes social networks. Rather than sharing interesting content or sparking conversations with other members, these messages end up annoying everyone. To the point where members, in order to avoid seeing these empty posts, end up blocking those who engage in this « emotional spam, » further isolating its authors. Here is a telling example from a French Facebook group:

Sacrificing Quality for Quantity!

According to our research, these behaviors are so common that there is a specific definition for them in the dictionary of web psychology: A person who sends insignificant messages daily on social media can be defined as someone seeking to fulfill a need for attention or connection, often at the expense of content quality or relevance. These messages, generally repetitive and lacking genuine interest, may reflect a quest for validation or an attempt to fill a sense of loneliness. They may also indicate a habit or a lack of awareness about the impact of these posts on others. In network sociology, such behavior could be interpreted as a form of « social noise » or « emotional spam, » where the quantity of messages outweighs their quality or meaning.

Proactive Solutions

The main culprits in validating these behaviors are not the individuals themselves, as one might think, but the managers and administrators of these Facebook groups, who fail to implement tools to limit this type of content. Some administrators pay no attention whatsoever to the content posted in the groups they are responsible for, which allows these individuals to flood the group with insignificant messages, leading many members to abandon the group.

This is directly reflected in group memberships. When a group is neglected and allows any kind of post, the number of new members is very limited, and instead of growing, the member list shrinks.

As an administrator of several very popular Facebook groups in Montreal, France, and Belgium, I have found that tightening posting rules and systematically rejecting emotional spam significantly improves the atmosphere. Memberships then soar, as conversations become relevant again and are visibly monitored, as they should be.

Here are some resources to suggest to authors of emotional spam:

Facebook Group « Non à la solitude gay » at https://www.facebook.com/groups/chdholland/

Facebook Group « The LGBT depression and suicide support » at https://www.facebook.com/bigbrotherandbigsister/

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