American and European researchers suggest that people who chase “likes“ on social media share similar thinking patterns with lab rats seeking food.
In their study, which is set to be published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers found that looking for affirmation online is very much like “reward learning,“ a type of reinforcement learning commonly observed in lab mice conditioned to perform certain actions with food as a reinforcer.
SOURCE: https://www.naturalnews.com/2021-03-15-social-media-users-obsessed-with-likes-lab-rats.html