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Admit it, you’re in it for the likes! Otherwise, why would you flood your timeline with photos of sunny beaches and GoPro action? According to researchers, we have our brain’s design to blame for this. Facebook taps the brain’s pleasure center in ways that are easy to understand by psychologists. In effect, it’s not very different from drug addiction.

Nodding is easy

The question “why do we ‘like’ stuff on Facebook?” has been asked time and time again, but new studies show the exact psychology behind the action of ‘liking,’ as well as other actions we undertake when browsing other people’s virtual lives. According to an infographic shared by Entrepreneur, we ‘like’ because:

• It’s a quick and easy nod, freeing you up from actually posting a comment
• To affirm our beliefs about race, gender, sexual orientation, political views, etc.
• To express empathy
• To obtain a benefit (a free coupon or a discount)

Okay, but why do we also bother to comment sometimes? Because of obvious reasons: all of the above, plus to really make our voices heard – to make an impression. Personal messages are more satisfying to receivers than the one-click like, according to Moira Burke, who is actively studying a group of 1,200 Facebook users. We also do it when the content strikes a cord, upsets us, or is lackluster in information.

Why we post status updates and share

Again, for all of the above, plus for the attention. Because telling people how you feel relieves loneliness, especially when that status update also instigates comments, and other forms of feedback. Research shows that when people update their statuses more often, their levels of loneliness drop. It’s also been discovered that many people proceed to write a status but never actually post it, because they are afraid to be judged.

Sharing is a different kind of animal, even though it too seeks many of the psychological rewards mentioned in the paragraphs above. Some of the main reasons why we do it include: to spread the word about interesting things, to make people laugh, to let others know what you believe in, to lend support to a cause or organization, and to confirm that you posses a certain piece of information.

Sound familiar? If not, share with us why you engage on Facebook, and where you think studies like this one get it wrong.