The Need to Connect

The Share Button: Why We Can‘t Resist Tapping It

In 2022, a staggering 4.62 billion people worldwide use social media. With just the tap or click of the share button, we broadcast messages, videos, images and more to friends, family and strangers. But what motivates this now commonplace online behavior?

As social creatures, sharing helps us connect. Yet mixed in with our posts about family pets and vacation pics are carefully crafted messages shaped by corporations, politicians and influencers hoping to manipulate. Understanding the psychology behind our sharing can help us become more considered and empowered users.

Humans have always lived in groups for protection and belonging. As social animals, we formed tight bonds vital to our health and happiness. During COVID lockdowns, isolated people flocked online. Messaging or video calls stimulated their brains’ reward system with waves of dopamine, keeping loneliness and anxiety at bay.

Simply posting and interacting releases feel-good brain chemicals:

Dopamine offers us little hits of pleasure and satisfaction when we gain likes or comments. Its release is stronger for unpredictable social rewards than for food, sex or money. Dopamine leaves us craving more, tapping into scroll and share addictions.

Oxytocin, the “love hormone”, surges during intimate contact. When we open up online it signals safety to forge bonds, building a sense of close community even with strangers.

No wonder 80% of us use social media primarily to connect with others, scientists find.

Our self-image develops through social feedback. Online platforms provide stages for people to showcase their best selves.

The popularity of Instagram in part comes from its identity-shaping function. Carefully staged photos or reels present visual digests of people’s looks, lifestyle and taste.

Posting achievements like career updates, creative projects or new skills also builds self-esteem. The more public kudos they garner through comments and likes, the bigger the validation payoff. Even humblebrags about failures often fish for support.

While chasing external validation risks unhealthy comparisons, sharing milestones responsibly can cement identity and relationships.

What starts as organic peer sharing easily turns into powerful broadcast tools for those with agendas to spread.

Businesses harness social proof by having average users showcase products online as authentic recommendations. They may offer free merchandise to prominent posters they’ve targeted.

Political ads also slipped in between baby photos aim to direct what information users see. They highlight content to align with partisan beliefs, using confirmation bias to firm up convictions.

Nonprofits similarly count on viral posts and hashtags to get supporters spreading educational messages for their causes. Aid groups leverage emotional appeals to inspire volunteers and donations.

While agendas sometimes promote worthy ideas, it‘s worth questioning what reaches us so easily online and why.

Amid the vanity and consumerism runs an undercurrent of human kindness. Everyday people start campaigns that take off, like 2014’s Ice Bucket Challenge which raised $250 million for ALS research.

The act of giving literally changes the brain by releasing reward chemicals, lightening moods. Social platforms facilitate acts of kindness among strangers, helping runners find lost pets or mobilizing disaster relief.

Even simple interactions like commenting with words of support on a friend’s post nurtures relationships. Lurkers hesitant to post often find contacting online confidants easier than face-to-face interactions due to anonymity.

So while not every shared meme saves lives, small gestures send ripples of positive impact through online communities.

Sometimes people share simply for the joy of good content itself or to help others. Recommending funny videos or telling articles shares positive experiences.

Reviewers help followers leverage crowd wisdom, while niche hobby posts give enthusiasts obscure knowledge to deepen expertise. Even nostalgic blasts-from-the-past resonate by sparking collective memories among peers.

In polarized and isolated times, spreading humorous memes, new ideas or uplifting news links moves value through social networks. Shared laughter forges common understanding. Exchanging recommendations seeds relationships.

So before posting or even scrolling, understanding what motivates you empowers conscious, savvy sharing for good. Question what private agendas may guide your feeds. Seek authentic connections and meaningful actions over shallow validations.

Stay thoughtful, stay empowered, and keep aspiring to share posts that spark joy.