Can’t go a minute without tweeting about your morning latte (tasty!), Facebooking about your sister-in-law’s cousin’s best friend’s wedding (her third and she wore white!) or posting a video of your puppy’s newest trick (ROTF hysterical!) on YouTube?

This need to know, tell, share – and most importantly, connect – has become a form of instant gratification, thanks to technology. But social networking is as old as the hills – make that the caves.

The January 2012 issue of the journal, “Nature,” delves into the relationships among 200 hunter-gatherers of the Hadza tribe in current-day Tanzania who live as their – and our – ancestors probably lived 10,000 years ago. Researchers discovered that, without cellphones and the Internet or even landlines and cars, the most cooperative among them bonded to form networks that promoted community benefits and also made the group successful in achieving results needed for survival.

They concluded, “Social networks show striking similarities and both theory and evidence suggest that networks may have facilitated the development of large-scale cooperation in humans.”

If modern networks reflect ancient networks, as it appears they do, to me this implies that the yearning for connection, cooperation and community is inherently human. Bonding – whether it’s via Facebook or face-to-face – is beneficial for us as individuals and for the survival of society.

So go forth and share, share, share!

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v481/n7382/full/nature10736.html