Facebook Sharing Provides as Much Pleasure as Food & Sex

Food, sex, and Facebook interaction. Those are the big three.

A Harvard University study concludes that the pleasure we get when our Facebook posts are viewed, liked and commented on, ranks right up there with the pleasure derived from food and sex.

The research indicates that social media interaction - when others acknowledge our online shares - is a process that gives way to an increased rate of 'self-disclosure', which in turn causes a spike in dopamine production in our brain. It states:

“that humans so willingly self-disclose because doing so represents an event with intrinsic value, in the same way as with primary rewards such as food and sex.”

Diana Tamir and Jason Mitchell of Harvard's Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab studied humans' reactions when given a choice between a small cash reward for answering factual questions, and a smaller reward for the right to share opinions on a subject. A majority of the subjects chose the smaller reward, in order to share their views.

“Just as monkeys are willing to forgo juicy rewards to view dominant group-mates and college students are willing to give up money to view attractive members of the opposite sex, our participants were willing to forgo money to think and talk about themselves.”

Do you agree? Is the pleasure center in your brain stimulated when others interact with your Facebook shares?

Was it good for you?

[CBSDC]