Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect

The book Social is the self-help guide you need when it comes to learning about relationships, how to strengthen them, and why we have good and bad relationships with others. This book provides the reader with less practical help when it comes to relationships, but with more information on how our brains act when it comes to relationships. We as humans try so hard to understand others, but sometimes do not spend the same time trying to understand ourselves. Social provides insights into how our minds work so we can be better at both.

Our brains prioritize relationships with others and seek them out. As humans we yearn for connection. Our brains innately want us to harmonize with society as a whole and with others so that we can build relationships. Whether introverted or extroverted, connection with others is one of the main driving forces behind our behavior according to Liberman. We act depending on how others act and how we associate ourselves with them. That is why it is so important to pick and choose who you surround yourself with. As said in Social, when interacting with others we “act to make their lives a bit better.” Liberman also goes on to say that we tend to switch up our actions to be in accordance with their actions.  

One of the more interesting facts that I pulled from Social was that our brains react the same way to mental pain as they do to physical pains. Another group in our class studied the body in terms of wellness and I bet this finding would relate to some of their findings. Our bodies act in unison with our brains. This is proof to the point that mental wellness should be considered just as important as physical wellness. I believe that our society has realized the same thing and in recent years there has been much more emphasis put on our mental wellness.

I think this book could benefit all of us, no matter who we are, the stage of life we are in, or how good our current relationships are. There is always room for improvement when it comes to relationships, and I think Liberman does a great job of helping the reader understand the way our brains and well-being are impacted by our social connections so we can prioritize relationships.