How are you feeling today?

10

All over the world right now, boyfriends are making their girlfriends feel stressed, happy, mental, confused, desperate, awesome and, on average, a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very sad and 10 being very happy). Girlfriends, however, are making their boyfriends feel happy, brokenhearted, special, sad, manly, in love and, on average, a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

This is according to emotionr.com, a new social networking Web site. Users update their emotions using a sliding scale (1 to 10) paired with emoticons to rate their levels of happiness. They also pick a word to choose how they are feeling and name what is making them feel that way.

“It’s all about emotions and how people feel,” said Taras Vovk, a program manager for emotionr and president of Zallas Technologies, the Chicago-based company that recently acquired the Web site from Finland and relaunched it.

People just want to vent

The Web site is relatively new and small, especially in the United States, with only about 2,500 users. “We’re very hopeful that that number is going to grow,” said Vovk, adding that the site is mainly spreading by word of mouth. Vovk said the social networking aspects of emotionr.com are expanding, and other uses may also be in its future. The site is too small right now, but perhaps eventually it could be used to track how different cultures feel about particular topics.

Vovk thinks people are using emotionr as a venting mechanism. “So far, it’s been kinda cool having a place to rant or rave when there’s no one awake to talk to,” wrote user Paulo Y., 40, of the Philippines.

“It really helps to understand why I feel a certain way if I just think about it and write it down,” wrote a user who goes by ChiFan, 28, of Chicago. “Another cool thing is,” wrote ChiFan, “if a friend of mine is feeling sad, emotionr e-mails me right away and I usually e-mail or call that friend instantly.”

“(Emotionr) is interesting because it sounds along the lines of a therapeutic model,” said Terry Correll, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University and a practicing psychiatrist. “A point of therapy, often times, is paying attention to your emotional state.”

Confront your feelings

“Moods are usually stimulated by certain thoughts or cognitions that are going on, so with patients in mental health, we’re often getting them to connect what brought on this mood so they don’t have this sense that moods just overwhelm them,” Correll said.

“I admit I actually have to think about what word describes my feelings at any particular moment,” wrote Paulo Y, “so emotionr’s pretty good at forcing you to identify what you’re feeling and why.”

“It could be a healthy thing, paying attention to your emotional state,” Correll said. But he added: “I could see (emotionr) being used in a dysfunctional way where people are calling out, reaching out, for help through a social networking site like this when they need help.”

“The majority of my patients are involved in social networking sites,” Correll said. “People really enjoy it.”

He said his patients relate that social networking sites are the primary way they keep in touch with high school and college friends. “(Social networking sites) could help us stay connected with people as we pass through different phases of our lives,” Correll said, noting this as a positive aspect. He said it could also lead to opportunities to develop deeper connections with some, but if it does not and instead replaces actual contact, some people will still feel lonely from these superficial connections.

“I would say direct contact and interpersonal relationships are more fulfilling,” Correll said.

“I will see people who feel guilty because they’re too connected to their computer ... and they’re letting life pass them by,” Correll said.

He also sees patients who let their virtual connections affect their committed relationships and engage in emotional affairs through social networking sites.

Correll does not think social networking sites are particularly good or bad. “I think it has potential either way,” he said.

He does recommend that people use them to stimulate relationships in a healthy way.

“When I see it used well ... it’s a wonderful thing,” Correll said. :)