Why do we share content in the web?

Sharing information and content in an easy and fast way to our contacts is one of the most important features in social media and for user behavior online. Sharing content is one of the pillars of social web.

Today almost all of the Internet tools and apps offer various options so that content is shared in every way possible.

But the question is: Why do people share? What are the motivations to share content in the web?
The New York Times published a study based in those questions. The study, called “The Psychology of Sharing”, classifies six types of profiles of people that share content online.
They are:

• altruists — mostly female, attached to causes
• careerists — focused on job-related information
• hipsters — younger altruists and careerists
• boomerangs — people who share simply to stir up controversy
• connectors — related to careerists
• selectives — related to altruists