Social Networking Psychology
Understanding The Psychology Behind Social Networking Online
Humans are social creatures. Embedded somewhere deep in our psyches lies the irresistible urge to seek out our own kind, to bond together and cultivate relationships and communities. It stands to reason that such a common and primitive instinct may be the precise reason why social networking services, such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter continue to see such a surge in popularity. In fact Stanford University recently began offering a class dealing strictly with the subject of the psychology of Facebook.
So what are the psychological reasons behind our obsession with social networking sites? Why are we becoming more and more likely to substitute virtual relationships and social interaction with for the real things? While there are many possible reasons, there are three main issues which are pretty compelling.
Relationships are difficult. It is not simply a matter of finding the time to build relationships, but rather the continued effort it takes to maintain them that weighs on us. When we are face to face in a social environment, we must constantly engage and be engaged. However, social networking services allow us to engage others on out own time, and often en masse. We can spend five minutes updating our status and still feel that we have participated in and active friendship and impacted our virtual society. These services allow us to feel connected and engaged, while still maintaining a physical separation.
Online social networking also gives us another advantage over actual social engagements because it allows us to exercise a strict control to the personae that we project to the society as a whole. We are able to pick the most flattering pictures and present the most pleasing view of our selves as we possibly can – something that just isn’t possible in the real world.
The final reason why we find online social interaction so appealing is that it is sterile. We feel empowered to protect our circle from unwanted influence. In the real world, it’s sometimes impossible to avoid the undesirable, but in virtual societies, avoiding a troublesome ex is a simple as a click of the mouse.
Without a doubt, these online services are influencing the way that we socialize. However there is little fear that online social communities will completely replace our face to face relationships. In the end, we still crave human touch, and that’s something that just can’t be simulated online.
