Many people go on social networks to seek attention and approval. If their tweet, photo or status update doesn’t receive any love and support from the people in their network, they may be tempted to create a post similar to their friend’s one that did.

Too many women post pictures with too little clothes on, and too few men post great things about other men. And too many men and women post photos of their food or get obsessed about celebrities who they don’t really know and probably never will.

People adapt so they can be more likable. People like people who are like them.

Humans are social animals and it’s a well known fact that our behavior depends on both our genetic make-up and our environment. The external forces shape our behavior and our beliefs.

And therefore, in our attempt to be accepted and valued, many of us are willing to sacrifice our authenticity, doing things that others expect us to do, talking about things other people talk about, afraid that our real selves aren’t worthy enough.

Social networks are not a popularity contest. People who compare themselves to their virtual friends can get depressed because they compare the highlights of somebody else’s life to their normal, everyday life.

People sometimes forget that the social networks are basically just a communication tool. So if you care about the quality of your relationships, you need to have deep, meaningful conversations.

This means more direct messages, more comments and less likes and favorites.

It is too easy to like something on Facebook. That’s why a Facebook like doesn’t mean much.

Prior to Facebook, there was MySpace. For those who remember and are old enough, there was no like button on MySpace. And in my experience, the conversations were richer and more meaningful.

And now it seems like… Ain’t nobody got time for that.