The sociologist Zeynep Tufekci argued that Facebook and other social media had formed a substitute for “gossip, people-curiosity and small talk,” which, she wrote, were “the human version of social grooming in primates: an activity that is essential to forging bonds, affirming relationships, displaying bonds, and asserting and learning about hierarchies and alliances.” Significantly, she wrote, “Social grooming should be seen as both a bonding activity and a competitive activity: it is a means to improve one’s reputation and status as well as access to resources and social and practical solidarity.”

Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, loc. 1005