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Modeling shows how social cues drive animal grouping, fitness

In a world ruled by technology, its no secret that social media has a powerful effect on human behavior. While our friends in the animal kingdom arent known to share photos on Instagram or update their status on Facebook, they have other ways of relaying information that are similarly significant.

Using mathematical simulations, researchers at UC Davis and the University of Florida found that these means of social networking promote group formation among animals.

Several empirical studies have suggested that social information whether its incidental or deliberate promotes animal grouping behavior, said Mike Gil, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis.

The advantages of social networking through group formation essentially provide members of the group with an opportunity for increased fitness in various environments. These advantages arise when information shared by one member of the group is observed by others, relaying information on how to survive.

Animals are choosing groups in order for them to be able to get information, said Katherine Sieving, a professor at the University of Florida and a UC Davis alumna. Gathering social information in groups drives their formation.

In addition to providing an explanation for why animals tend to form groups in nature, the researchers also found that the sharing of information favors the formation of small, heterospecific groups.

What our study also revealed was that its most beneficial to be selective in how many individuals youre grouping with, Gil said. We see this instance of smaller groups of information producers, because each individual is going to be a competitor in addition to an information producer.

Constraints on group size can limit competition, thus leading to increased fitness among group members in a range of ecological contexts. Additionally, groups consisting of members of different species are optimal as they eliminate a margin of niche overlap between species. In these situations where members of a group share predators but overlap less in the kind of food they eat, the chance for survival and reproduction is greatly increased.

Some group members [of the same species] often compete directly with one another for food. Other group members [of a different species] may only partially compete with one another, said Zach Emberts, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida who collaborated with Gil on the research. Thus, depending on the situation, it might be beneficial to have group members that are not solely competing for the same food source.

In a world where reproduction is essential for the continuation of life, animals seem to have figured out the key to survival. While patterns among these animals are recognizable, a lot of the understanding of their strategies has been largely based on speculation. This study provides a meaningful direction to work toward.

Those of us that actually work with these social groups, we know whats going on, but its really hard in anyones study or system to figure out why, Sieving said. Thats the beauty of a good modeling paper like this one.

The paper written by Mike Gil with co-authors Zachary Emberts, Harrison Jones and Colette St. Mary can be found in The American Naturalist.

Written by: Abigail Saenz science@theaggie.org

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Social networking promotes survival in animals - The Aggie

Mashable

Forget Facebook, forget Snapchat: Teens are doing it themselves Mashable The world's largest social network was "big" and "made sense" circa 2004 or 2005, according to Monkey cofounder Isaiah Turner, but no longer. He and Ben Pasternak, 18 and 17 respectively, have launched a new social network one they believe the teens ...

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Forget Facebook, forget Snapchat: Teens are doing it themselves - Mashable

Sir: Many people use social networks on a daily basis, including Facebook and Twitter, but not everyone thinks that using them is a good idea. Some people think that social media is distracting while others think that social networks connect users to new people and ideas.

Social networking may help teenagers learn technical skills, but it ruins social and communication skills. Instead of face-to-face interaction, my generation is becoming too comfortable interacting with screens.

Company managers often use Facebook as a tool to learn about prospective employees. Often times they will look through a possible employees Facebook account before deciding to even bring them in for an interview.

What people post on Facebook can be a very good indicator of their true character. People tarnish their image by spending too much time uploading unimportant things. When excessive amounts of time are spent on these sites, They have less time to directly socialise with others.

Those who do not go out and meet others have harder a time accomplishing important social tasks. Because they are not face-to-face, many people say things on sites that they normally would not say. Unfortunately, this unhealthy venting can result in serious side-effects.

Social media sites have a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers by making them more prone to anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders.

They can also result in a lost job opportunity, take away time that could be used in the workplace, and they bring harmful psychological side effects in teens. Social networking is a disease, and we desperately need a cure. Healthy relationships and communication are necessary in life, and they should not start or be kept up online. Also, sites such as Facebook and Twitter are highly addictive; the average teen spends about nine hours per week on them. Some feel compelled to post news about themselves multiple times a day. At such a tender age, sleeping, studying and exercising should be more important, but sadly, those are not most kids priorities. Call me old-fashioned, but I strongly believe technology and social networking are undermining our society.

LAIBA KHURSHID

Islamabad

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Social networking a disease - Daily Times

Consumers feel happier and more engaged when they are playing mobile games than when they are using social networks, according to a research report from mobile monetization firm Tapjoy.

Tapjoy conducted the report to find out what motivates mobile gamers, which are a highly desirable consumer audience for brand advertisers.

One finding fromThe Changing Face of Mobile Gamers: What Brands Need to Know, is that consumers are twice as likely to say they feel relaxed when playing mobile games than they are when using social apps.

They also say they feel more focused (35 percent vs 11 percent), happier (34 percent vs 21 percent), and more engaged (35 percent vs 20 percent) on gaming apps than social networking apps. Conversely, consumers are 2.4 times more likely to feel bored on social apps than gaming apps, and 60 percent more likely to feel stressed.

Above: Tapjoys survey of mobile gamers shows how they feel while playing.

Image Credit: Tapjoy

When designing their digital advertising strategies, its critical that brands take into consideration the activities that consumers are engaged in at the time and how they make them feel, said Shannon Jessup, chief revenue officer of Tapjoy, in a statement. There are nearly 2 billion mobile gamers in the world, and the unique state of mind consumers have when playing games on their smartphones or tablets represents an incredible opportunity for brands to truly connect with consumers.

Another finding: More than two-thirds of consumers who play games do not identify themselves as a gamer. Even among those who said that they play mobile games six times per week or more, less than one in three identify as a gamer.

Women represent the majority of mobile gamers, making up 63 percent of the total player base. Consumers 55 and over are the largest age group, representing 23 percent of the respondents, with consumers ages 25 to 34 representing 21 percent and those 35 to 44 representing 19 percent.

Consumers with a household income of $100,000 or more make up 17 percent of mobile gamers, with another 37 percent earning between $50,000 and $99,000.

70 percent of mobile gamers say they play while sitting in front of the television, and they are more than twice as likely to play while relaxing at home than while at work or during their commute. They are also more than twice as likely to play at night right before they go to bed than when they first wake up in the morning.

Above: Tapjoys survey shows when people play mobile games.

Image Credit: Tapjoy

Puzzle games are most popular category, played by 59 percent of respondents. Strategy (38 percent), trivia (33 percent) and casino/card (27 percent) games were next on the list, respectively. Among the least popular games are player-vs-player (15 percent), Sports (11 percent), and Shooting (8 percent).

The report is based on a third-quarter survey of 5,623 unique smartphone and tablet owners. Consumers had to be 18 and above to take part. The survey was run through mobile gaming apps on iOS and Android, so by default all respondents played mobile games on at least one occasion. Tapjoy reaches about 520 million monthly active users.

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Tapjoy: Mobile games are more engaging and fun than social ... - VentureBeat

IT engineer, 34, kills 28-yr-old wife, hangs himself at home; suicide note said her sharing of their personal life online sparked his anger

Its no secret that the multiple avenues of social media have brought additional complications to our lives today, but a murderous rage being inspired by such digital sharing is a scenario rarer than most.

In a shocking case, an enraged man killed his wife and then hanged himself in the aftermath of a burst of anger over his wife sharing personal information about their lives on social media.

Rajesh Balasaheb Gangurde (34) first killed his wife, Sonali Rajesh Gangurde (28), and then hanged himself in their home on Tuesday. Sonalis brother Harshal Mahendra Pawar (25) registered a complaint in this regard at the Hadapsar police station on the morning of January 19. A suicide note found next to the couple clearly declared that Rajesh had been angered by his wifes online presence.

In Pune for the last four years, the couple had been living in a rented apartment at Shiv Park on Solapur Road, Hadapsar. Rajesh was an IT engineer and worked for a company in Swargate, while Sonali had a BE in computers, but was a housewife. They had been married for around four years and living in Pune since. They originally hailed from Nashik.

On January 17, Sonalis mother, who resides in Nashik, had been trying to call her the entire day, but got no response. Panicking, she immediately called up Harshal, who lives with his brother Kunal Pawar in Meadows Avenue on Baner-Pashan Link Road. Following this, Harshal also tried to call up his sister, but in vain. Once he finished his workday, Kunal and he decided to visit her and make sure all was well.

When we reached their home, we tried knocking on the door and ringing the bell, but got no response. We called JustDial and got the number of a key-maker, who came over and tried to make a duplicate key. He informed us that the door was locked from the inside and would have to be broken down. This is when we decided to call the police, said Harshal in his statement to the cops. It was when the door was broken down and we went into the bedroom that we found Rajesh hanging from the ceiling with a nylon rope, and Sonali lying on the bed, he added.

Hadapsar police reached the spot around 11.30 pm on January 18, when they were informed about the couple not opening the door. Assistant police inspector (API) Kiran Londhe of Hadapsar PS, who is investigating the case, told Mirror, Following the post-mortem report, we know that the cause of death for Sonali is suffocation, because her mouth was blocked and she couldnt breathe, leading to her death. Whether Rajesh did this with his hands or with any other object will only be known once we investigate further. While the exact time of death is not known, it is definitely between 8 pm and 11 pm on January 17.

Next to the two bodies, the police also found a suicide note written by Rajesh. It said that he was angry with his wife for sharing their personal information on social media with her friends, which is why he ended her life. His letter also said that no one should be blamed for the murder other than him. After killing someone, there are usually only two options. Either get caught and go to jail, or kill oneself. Rajesh chose the latter, added Londhe.

When Mirror visited the building in Hadapsar on Thursday and spoke to a few of the couples neighbours, they all said that the couple hardly ever mingled socially. They usually kept to themselves and the woman also almost never left her house, unless it was with her husband. I have lived here for almost 12 years now and still had never spoken to them. We did not even hear any noise at night. It was when I was going to drop my children to school that I heard of the incident, said one neighbour, requesting anonymity.

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Social networking rage leads man to kill wife and self - Pune Mirror