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Intrigued about the connection between our online persona and happiness?
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Introduction
This is a fact about social media: posting pictures and videos does make us happier than the people who aren't sharing anything. Maybe you've posted a pic of your lunch on Facebook, or streamed a video of your dog doing something cute on TikTok. Ever wondered why? That's because it turns out that clicking "Share" activates the same part of our brains as eating delicious food or winning big at poker does. If your brain's telling you to share what you're doing (or what other people are doing), that means it's craving those feel-good chemicals called dopamine. In this post, we'll take a look at some studies that have been done on how dopamine works with social media, and then jump into another study that shows how these patterns hold up even if we're not getting likes, comments, or shares in response to our posts."""
The first study that points out the dopamine-social media relationship was conducted in 2009. It was published in the journal Psychological Science, written by Dr. Jeffrey T. Hancock and Dr. David A. Pizarro, who got their information from an earlier study conducted by Dr. Matthew D. Lieberman at UCLA’s Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab on how people react to different types of photos and videos online (via their friends).
In this 2009 study, researchers found that people tended to post more positive content than negative content because they knew it would make them feel better about themselves—and those who saw the posts were also more likely to share those feelings with their social circles via retweets or likes.
All of this leads me back to my original point: When do you see someone else's happy moment on social media and want one yourself? That's your brain telling you what kind of dopamine hit it wants next! So follow its lead and put yourself out there too; don't let fear get in your way!
A pair of researchers from UW-Madison and Harvard University wanted to get a better understanding of how brain-reward networks function with the use of social media
In a recent study, two researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard University wanted to get a better understanding of how brain-reward networks function with the use of social media. They recruited 24 healthy male volunteers to participate in their research.
To get an accurate result, they first had each participant take an MRI scan while they were shown pictures of food (like chocolate cake) or friends that would make them happy. The participants were then asked to rate how much happiness each picture brought them on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very much).
After completing this task, they were split into two groups: one group was told they would be posting pictures on Facebook and another was told they wouldn't be posting pictures on Facebook but instead playing Tetris! What did you guess happened? Those who thought about posting photos online had increased dopamine levels compared with those who weren't thinking about it.
In this study, 20 participants were asked to post one photo on Facebook every day for two weeks
Even though they all reported higher levels of happiness or contentment after posting, they also pointed out that they felt like they had less free time—a common complaint among people who use social media frequently.
This suggests that there might be something about using social media as a way of connecting with others that increases your happiness levels.
The participants all reported higher levels of happiness or contentment after posting, yet they also pointed out that they felt like they had less free time and that their posts weren't as well-received as they would have liked them to be
The participants all reported higher levels of happiness or contentment after posting, yet they also pointed out that they felt like they had less free time and that their posts weren't as well-received as they would have liked them to be
Participants described feeling overwhelmed by social media, with one participant saying: "I get so many likes on a photo and then I'm sad if it doesn't happen again."
Another study was conducted in 2017 by researchers at Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin
The results showed that posting on social media leads to increased happiness but also decreased happiness.
The researchers gave participants an iPhone for two weeks, with instructions to use the device as they would normally but without actually posting anything. After two weeks, the participants were asked how much time they spent using social media each day and whether their feelings about their lives had changed since they first started using the phone.
The results showed that those who used Facebook more often said they felt less happy than those who used it less frequently or not at all; however, when these people were asked whether they thought their lives had improved over time or gotten worse, there was no significant difference between those who posted frequently on Facebook from those who did not post frequently on Facebook
Participants in this study were to only post twice a week instead of every day but otherwise followed the same posting schedule as the first group
In this study, participants were to only post twice a week instead of every day. The other two groups followed the same posting schedule as the first group. Participants were asked to post about positive events or negative events (for example, “I got flowers from my boyfriend” versus “My best friend is moving away”).
Participants in all three groups reported feeling more satisfied with their lives and happier on average than those who didn't post at all.
More than half of them relied on social media platforms to share photos and videos
The study found that more than half of the people surveyed shared photos or videos on social media. The majority of those who shared photos used Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. For the most part, this was because they wanted to share their experiences with family members and friends. However, a significant number also wanted to connect with customers and employees.
These results closely match what we’ve seen in our research—that sharing content on social media is an extremely effective way to gain exposure for your brand and make an impact with your audience (whether that’s encouraging them to buy a product or simply creating awareness).
More than 60 percent expected their peers to react positively to their photos, and more than 70 percent wanted their peers to feel connected to them after seeing their posts
The participants expressed high hopes for the positive reactions their peers would have to their posts. More than 60 percent expected their peers to react positively to their photos, and more than 70 percent wanted their peers to feel connected to them after seeing their posts.
However, when it came down to posting the photos or videos themselves, most of the people surveyed were hesitant about sharing what they were doing. The most common reason was that they were worried about being judged by others (63 percent).
This resulted in increased happiness overall for the participants who posted about positive events
When you post about positive events, the act of posting itself makes you happier. For example, a friend's wedding is a positive event and should be shared on social media. But when people post about negative events, this decreases their overall happiness.
So what does that mean for you? It means that when it comes to your social media strategy, your goal should be to maximize the number of times you post about positive things (like fun vacations or a child's birthday party) and minimize the number of times you post about negative things (like grumpy mornings or being late for work).
However, those who posted about negative events experienced a decrease in happiness after posting, possibly because their expectations for positive feedback weren't met or because this caused them to dwell on the negative event even more
The study, published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology in 2017, asked participants to post about positive or negative events twice a week for two weeks. The participants were also told they would receive feedback from their friends after completing each post.
The team found that those who posted about positive events experienced an increase in happiness after posting and received positive feedback on their posts—this was true even when they didn't expect it or had low expectations for it. However, those who posted about negative events experienced a decrease in happiness after posting, possibly because their expectations for positive feedback weren't met or because this caused them to dwell on the negative event even more."
Conclusion
In conclusion, these studies have shown that posting on social networks gives us a little extra happiness boost. It's not enough to make us feel great about everything in our lives, but it does help combat negative feelings during hard times (as long as we post about positive things). I hope you found this blog informative and helpful!
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