Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The old maxim "location, location, location" may be as important in the social media landscape as it is in real estate. When a social media post about a user's personal experiences, feelings or beliefs includes geographic information, that location cue may affect how much readers like and empathize with the poster, according to a study led by Penn State researchers.

How location cues shape perception

They found that location cues influenced perceived homophily—or the similarity felt by a user to the original poster in terms of attitudes, values and background. This in turn predicted users' likelihood to like the post and empathize with the poster. The research team's findings are published in New Media & Society .

"Our work is a psychological study about online human nature," said study co-author S. Shyam Sundar, Evan Pugh University Professor and James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects at Penn State.…