"We Judge People Based on 'Where They Posted From'—The Era When SNS Location Labels Change Empathy"

When reading someone's post on SNS, are we really only looking at the "content of the text"?

For example, suppose someone writes, "I'm scared of marriage," "My relationship with my family is tough," or "I'm anxious about the future compared to those around me." If the poster's location is not displayed, many people would imagine the person's feelings from the text itself. However, what if the post is accompanied by a location label like "Beijing," "Guizhou," or "USA"?

Even with the same concerns, if we feel that "someone from a place close to us is writing," it becomes easier to empathize, whereas if we feel "someone from a far place" or "someone who seems to have a different background," we read with some distance. This is not mere speculation. Research published by a team from Pennsylvania State University and others suggests that location information on SNS can influence readers' empathy, favorability, and psychological distance.

The key point of this research is that location information itself does not directly sway readers' judgments, but rather it evokes a sense of "this person might be similar to me" or "this person might be from a different world." The study refers to this feeling as "perceived homogeneity." Whether attitudes, values, and backgrounds feel close to one's own can determine whether one likes the poster, empathizes with them, or feels psychologically close.

Location Information Becomes an "Invisible Self-Introduction" on SNS

Location information on SNS has been perceived as a convenient feature. Adding a location to travel photos, sharing information from the ground during disasters, or tagging places in posts about restaurants and events—location information plays a role in supplementing context in such cases.

However, the current issue is not only when posters actively indicate "I am here." Since 2022, a policy has been introduced in China to display users' approximate location on SNS, showing the province or municipality for domestic users and the country name for overseas users. This aims to curb information manipulation and misinformation from abroad.

In terms of increasing transparency, this system has a certain level of persuasiveness. For example, if an account pretends to be a "local resident" regarding an event in a certain area, the display of location information makes it easier to notice any oddities. There may also be situations where the poster's location serves as a clue against political propaganda, misinformation during disasters, or posts inciting regional conflicts.

However, location information is not neutral data. In readers' minds, place names evoke various associations—urban or rural, affluent or not, domestic or foreign, familiar or unfamiliar. Such associations blend into the evaluation of the post content.

In other words, location information becomes a new self-introduction on SNS, not just a "place." Readers might interpret attributes that the person has not mentioned themselves.

Experiments Show "Empathy Differences Based on Location"

The research team conducted an online experiment with 240 Chinese SNS users. Participants read posts expressing anxiety about marriage due to family conflicts or anxiety about the future due to comparisons with peers. The posts were designed in the style of a Chinese SNS app, with only the displayed location information changed.

The conditions were Beijing, Guizhou, USA, and no location information. After reading the posts, participants answered how similar they felt to the poster, how much they liked them, how much they empathized, and how psychologically close they felt.

As a result, location information influenced the sense of "the poster is similar to me." Posts from Beijing were particularly perceived as having high homogeneity in terms of attitudes and values. On the other hand, posts from the USA were perceived as having lower background homogeneity compared to Beijing or Guizhou.

The important point here is that readers did not actually know the poster's origin or living environment. The displayed location was merely the location at the time of posting. They might have been traveling, studying abroad, or the display might differ from their actual residence due to VPNs or other factors. Still, readers imagine the person based on the place name.

In this study, feeling "similar to oneself" was more strongly related to empathy and favorability than geographical distance itself. In other words, it's not just proximity that fosters familiarity. The values and background images evoked by place names change the sense of distance in human relationships.

SNS Reactions—Limited Direct Reactions, but Intense Related Discussions

Given that the Phys.org article was just published, large-scale SNS reactions to the article itself are still limited. It has been featured on article introduction sites and news aggregation services as "location information on SNS changes people's post judgments" in Chinese, but there is limited evidence of it developing into major discussions on X or Reddit.

However, there are already many reactions and related studies on SNS regarding the display of location information itself. Particularly on China's Weibo, user perceptions of IP location information display have been significantly divided.

Positive reactions include opinions like "seeing where posts originate makes it easier to spot impersonations and misinformation," "it helps identify posts manipulating domestic public opinion from abroad," and "it encourages accountability for statements." There is a strong view on SNS that high anonymity encourages malicious posts and slander, and some welcome location information display as a "mechanism for transparency."

On the other hand, negative reactions are strong, primarily due to privacy concerns. Displaying regional information without consent, even if not a complete address, psychologically creates a sense of "being watched." Particularly in topics related to mental health, family issues, romance, politics, and regional discrimination, posters may refrain from speaking out for fear of being identified.

There is also concern that location information could become a new tool for attacks. For example, posting from a certain region might lead to assumptions like "people from that region are like this." Commenting on events outside one's local area might provoke responses like "outsiders should not interfere." If a user with an overseas label talks about domestic issues, they might be questioned, "What are you saying from outside?" Such reactions reinforce attitudes that judge based on the poster's location label rather than the content of the post.

Indeed, related research suggests that displaying location information could exacerbate regional divides. Analysis shows that after the introduction of location information display on Chinese SNS, comments on local topics from other regions significantly decreased. This is considered a phenomenon where "it becomes difficult to comment on topics not related to one's region" due to peer pressure and regional conformity, rather than direct censorship.

In essence, SNS reactions are divided into two conflicting emotions. One is the desire for transparency, "wanting to know who is saying what from where." The other is the desire for privacy and freedom of expression, "not wanting one's location to be labeled."

"Reliable Information" and "Information That Breeds Prejudice" Are Two Sides of the Same Coin

The difficulty with displaying location information is that it overlaps with situations where it is useful and where it causes harm.

During disasters, whether a post is from the local area is an important criterion. In cases of traffic disruptions, power outages, floods, fires, demonstrations, or incidents, posts from people close to the scene can be quick and useful information. In such cases, location information reinforces the reliability of the post.

Location information also holds meaning in advertising and word-of-mouth. Whether someone in Tokyo is talking about a Tokyo restaurant or someone who visited once from afar affects how readers perceive it. In regionally-focused information, location is the context itself.

However, the situation is different for personal worries and emotional expressions. Anxiety about marriage, future concerns, family relationship struggles, loneliness—such posts should primarily be read for "what is being felt" rather than "where the person is from." Yet, when location information is displayed, readers unconsciously infer the person's values and life background from the place name.

"They probably feel that way because they're from the city."
"Things must be different for someone from a rural area."
"If they're overseas, their perspective must be different from ours."

Such assumptions might be a natural cognitive shortcut for readers. However, it is also an act of confining the poster to a single label. Location information can be a clue to enhance reliability or a material that breeds prejudice.

What SNS Platforms Should Design

This research indicates that even small design changes in SNS can have an unexpectedly large impact on human psychology. Whether or not to display place names, the granularity of the display, whether users can choose to hide it, and whether the display method changes depending on the post content—these UI choices are not just specifications but designs that shape online human relationships.

If location information display is to be introduced, at least some considerations are necessary.

First, the granularity of the display. The risk varies greatly depending on the detail of the location information, such as country, prefecture, province, city, or surrounding area. Information necessary for transparency must be distinguished from information that could overly specify an individual.

Second, the user's choice. There may be cases where users want to display location information depending on the post content and cases where they do not. Particularly for personal worries or sensitive topics, forcing location information display could suppress expression.

Third, caution for readers. Location information does not guarantee the poster's origin or values. The display can vary due to current location, connection area, travel destination, study abroad location, workplace, VPN, and other factors. Platforms need to design to supplement context so that readers do not overinterpret location labels.

Fourth, measures against regional discrimination and attacks. If location information display increases attacks based on "where someone is from," platforms cannot simply display and leave it at that. Mechanisms are needed to detect and suppress harassment, exclusion, and labeling based on region.

Are We Losing Sight of People by Looking at "Place Names"?

SNS is a place where you can touch the emotions of strangers. You can empathize with the troubles of people far away, learn from the experiences of those in different environments, and notice social issues that are hard to see. However, when a label like location information is added, we tend to see the affiliation of the person before their words.

Of course, place is important. People do not live independently of land or social environment. Culture, economic conditions, and social norms differ by region. Place can help in understanding the background of a post.

However, place is not everything about a person. Just because someone is posting from Beijing does not mean they represent Beijing. Just because someone is posting from Guizhou does not mean they fit the stereotype of that region. Just because someone is posting from the USA does not mean they are unrelated to issues in Chinese society.

The issue highlighted by this research is that SNS location information display changes not only the "reliability of information" but also "the gaze towards people." Seeing the place might give a glimpse of the post's background. But at the same time, the moment we see the place, we attach arbitrary narratives to the person.

In future SNS, the balance between transparency and privacy, reliability and prejudice prevention will become increasingly important. Location information is a powerful clue useful for combating misinformation and understanding context. However, that clue also poses the danger of being used not to understand people but to classify them.

When we see a small place name displayed next to a post, we need to pause for a moment. The person is not that place itself. What exists there is not a point on a map, but a single poster with worries, emotions, and experiences.

Source URL

Article on Phys.org. Introduction of research led by Pennsylvania State University, overview of experiments, and presentation of research results indicating that location information affects empathy and favorability towards posters.
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cues-social-media-people.html

Original paper published in New Media & Society. Research examining psychological reactions to self-disclosure posts on SNS, divided into location information conditions of Beijing, Guizhou, USA, and no location information.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14614448251405828

PDF of the same paper. Used to confirm details such as experimental design, number of participants, perceived homogeneity, perceived spatial distance, empathy, favorability, and psychological distance.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14614448251405828?download=true

Related research published on ScienceDirect. Used to confirm the impact of IP location information display on privacy awareness and self-disclosure behavior among users on China's Weibo.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308596124000569

Analysis by Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions. Used to confirm the impact of location information disclosure policies on regional speech, peer pressure, and regional division in Chinese SNS.
https://sccei.fsi.stanford.edu/china-briefs/user-location-disclosure-fails-deter-overseas-criticism-amplifies-regional-divisions

Related paper information on ResearchGate. Used to supplement confirmation on public opinion, emotional analysis, privacy concerns, regional discrimination, and concerns about online attacks regarding Weibo's IP location information display.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397226714_Digital_Exposure_and_Emotional_Response_Public_Discourse_on_Mandatory_IP_Location_Disclosure_in_Chinese_Social_Media

Buzzing news aggregation page. Used to confirm that the Phys.org article is featured in a list of scientific news for the Chinese-speaking audience.
https://www.buzzing.cc/