Facebook Strokes Brain’s Pleasure Center
July 21, 2015
Why do people like using Facebook? It is a question that researchers have asked since Facebook premiered in 2004. It was assumed to be a passing fad like prior social networks, including Myspace and Live Journal, but over a decade later Facebook is still going strong without a sign of stopping. MakeUseOf.com decided to answer the question using an informative infographic and many research studies, check out “Why Do People Like, Share, And Comment On Facebook?”
Apparently Facebook taps the pleasure center of the brain, because when users actively share or “like” content they feel like they are directly engaging with a community. The infographic also explains that posting status updates relieves loneliness and increases a user’s virtual empathy. While “likes” are a quick form of communication, comments still seem to be the favorite way to interact on the social network:
“Moira Burke, who is studying 1,200 Facebook users in an ongoing experiment, has found that personal messages are more satisfying to receivers than the one-click communication of likes.”
Direct, more personal types of communication are still preferred by users. Facebook also is appealing, because users feel like they are getting something in return as well. They get discounts or coupons for their favorite brands, participate in contests, receive updates, and get individualized advertisements.
There are several other studies highlighting in the infographic, but the bottom line is that people are gaining a high level of personal interactivity that they can share with their friends and family. Facebook is an integral part of the Internet, because it connects users organically and appeals to a deep, psychological need to interact with other humans.
Whitney Grace, July 21, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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