Levana Layendecker dot com

Not sure how to feel about this

In a new article, Fast Company, talks about new research that finds that “Social Networking Affects Brains Like Falling in Love:”

Neuroeconomist Paul Zak has discovered, for the first time, that social networking triggers the release of the generosity-trust chemical in our brains. And that should be a wake-up call for every company.

It’s not that surprising that new ways to keep in contact with people you know and love, or to meet new people, would stimulate feelings of closeness and trust. In fact, I would argue that the idea that ‘online social networking’ causes this chemical reaction is probably off the mark. It’s the people who you are interacting with that cause the reaction. More importantly, however, it’s disturbing that companies are trying to determine how to manipulate our brain’s chemical reactions to get us to buy their products. That being said, is it really that different from old fashioned word-of-mouth which is sparked by having a good product? Anyway, the article gave me pause.