Humans Evolved to Like 'Likes'人类沉浸于“点赞”
Most of us have pressed a like button today—maybe even many times. If you're under 20, you probably do it even more. Maybe you posted something on Instagram or Facebook and keep checking to see how many likes you get. Each new like makes you feel a bit happier. But why do we enjoy likes so much? And why did the like button become so popular on social media?
我们大多数人今天都按下过“点赞”按钮——甚至可能按了很多次。如果你不到20岁，你可能按得更多。也许你在Instagram或脸书上发布了一些内容，然后不断查看自己获得了多少个赞。每一个新的赞都会让你感到更开心一点。但为什么我们如此喜欢点赞呢？为什么点赞按钮在社交媒体上如此受欢迎呢？
In 2018, scientist Lauren Sherman and her team wanted to find out. They asked 58 young people, ages 13 to 21, to choose some of their Instagram photos. The group then looked at these photos using a special app designed to look like Instagram, with a like button. While they did this, the teens lay in an fMRI machine that tracked their brain activity.
2018年，科学家劳伦·谢尔曼和她的团队想要找出答案。他们让58名年龄在13岁到21岁之间的年轻人挑选一些自己在Instagram上发布的照片。然后，这群人使用一个专门设计得像Instagram的应用程序查看这些照片，该应用程序有一个点赞按钮。在他们查看照片时，这些青少年躺在功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）机器中，机器会追踪他们的大脑活动。
The results showed that getting likes makes our brains very active, especially in areas linked to feeling happy, wanting rewards, paying attention, and copying others. When teens saw their own photos with lots of likes, their brains responded even more. Also, they liked photos more if the photos already had many likes from other people.
结果显示，获得点赞会使我们的大脑非常活跃，尤其是在与感到快乐、渴望奖励、集中注意力和模仿他人相关的区域。当青少年看到自己有很多点赞的照片时，他们的大脑反应更加强烈。而且，如果照片已经得到了很多其他人的点赞，他们会更喜欢这些照片。
Why is this? According to experts, the answer goes back to how humans evolved. Long ago, it helped us to learn from others. This is called "social learning." If we saw someone do something well, we copied them. If we saw them make a mistake, we avoided it. This helped us survive.
这是为什么呢？根据专家的说法，答案要追溯到人类的进化过程。很久以前，这有助于我们向他人学习。这被称为“社会学习”。如果我们看到有人做得很好，我们就会模仿他们。如果我们看到他们犯了错误，我们就会避免犯同样的错误。这有助于我们生存下来。
People also naturally like to be around others who are similar to themselves. We trust people who seem like us and pay attention to what they do. This is called "homophily." It can help us learn, but it can also cause problems like prejudice.
人们也自然地喜欢和与自己相似的人在一起。我们信任那些看起来和我们相似的人，并关注他们的行为。这被称为“同质性”。它可以帮助我们学习，但也会导致诸如偏见之类的问题。
Another reason we like likes is because humans pay attention to leaders or those who are popular. In the animal world, leaders use strength. For humans, leaders are often those who seem smart or helpful, and we follow them to learn more.
我们喜欢点赞的另一个原因是，人类会关注领导者或那些受欢迎的人。在动物世界中，领导者依靠力量。对于人类来说，领导者通常是那些看起来聪明或乐于助人的人，我们跟随他们以学习更多。
Finally, we like to say "thank you" and show appreciation. When we get likes, it feels like people are saying thank you or showing they care. When we give likes, it feels good too.
最后，我们喜欢说“谢谢”并表达感激之情。当我们得到点赞时，感觉就像人们在说谢谢或表示他们关心我们。当我们点赞时，感觉也很好。
All of this explains why the like button is so powerful. It connects to deep parts of our brain and our need for connection, learning, and reward. That's why it quickly became one of the most popular features on social media.
所有这些都解释了为什么点赞按钮如此强大。它与我们大脑的深层部分以及我们对联系、学习和奖励的需求相连接。这就是为什么它迅速成为社交媒体上最受欢迎的功能之一。
2025年5月26日于经典龙苑
