Toward an Evolutionary Perspective on Social Media Use for Cooperation

• Published in: Evolutionary behavioral sciences 2020-04, Vol.14 (2), p.132-146
• Main Author: Ng, Yu-Leung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Assistance (Social Behavior); Cooperation; Human; Information Dissemination; Ingroup Outgroup; Reputation; Social Capital; Social Integration; Social Media; Social Media Use
• ISSN: 2330-2925; 2330-2933
• DOI: 10.1037/ebs0000172

It has been argued that human beings are ecologically successful because of their large-group cooperation. In this article, I provide an overview of some recent research to propose that humans are evolved to cooperate with others, and they now use social media to perform large-group cooperation. People use social media to satisfy various needs. One possible gratification is that social media is a technological advance that facilitates resources and information sharing, connection, and interaction among people all over the world to perform successful cooperation. The aim of the present study is to propose an integrated evolutionary explanation of social media use for cooperation. Social media help individuals to gain monetary and emotional resources via online social capital construction and consolidation, enhance reputation via sharing knowledge and information on social media, and maintain in-group interests via collective decision-making. Theoretical implications are discussed. Public Significance Statement Because of our human nature we are born to be cooperative with others. Modern technology allows us to cooperate with others without geographical constraints. People today use social media to get and give emotional support, share knowledge, and achieve common goals.