Why Networks Net-Work

In popular media, like the film “The Social Network,” Harvard is portrayed as a hub for networking. Students flock to career fairs to connect with top companies while fielding numerous LinkedIn requests from peers — happily accepting them all in case we truly are speaking with the next Mark Zuckerburg.

But why are we so driven to make these social connections? What is the value of this hustle?

Networking is intrinsic to human biology. Evolutionarily, our primate ancestors began associating in groups of males and females for greater protection and safety in numbers. This social structure has prevailed across the evolutionary lineage, appearing in both primates and humans today.

From a neuropharmacological perspective, social connections cause our bodies to release oxytocin, the love hormone, which subsequently triggers the release of serotonin, the happy neurotransmitter. Together, these two substances reinforce social behaviors through our brain’s reward circuits.

Our acuity for complex social connections through networking stems partially from our ability to recognize and respond to emotions. Mirror neurons in the brain allow us to relate to the emotions of others by ‘mirroring’ the physiological responses associated with them. This ability seems to provide the basis of empathy, which helps us build strong relationships and shmooze potential employers.

But, how do we decide which relationships we should make, and with whom? Social connections are most evolutionarily favorable when the benefits exceed the costs. Many animals — including insects like ants, which dynamically organize themselves in living bridges — weigh costs and benefits in deciding to act. For primates, often the benefit of social groups is protection, while the cost is competition for resources within the group.

But the cost-benefit analysis of Harvard networking seems to diverge from the animal kingdom, as luckily, many of our basic needs — in both protection and resources — are already met (there are plenty of FlyBy sandwiches to go around). We thus have the potential to make connections with anyone and everyone with little or no consequence; we are afforded the luxury to choose. Rather than networking for survival, we network for problem set buddies, friends in high places, and critical professional connections that can help us secure selective dream jobs and future plans.

This element of choice can lead to some negative consequences of social interactions.

Take for example imposter syndrome, the nagging perception of feeling undeserving. Harvard’s extremely low acceptance rate and the talented student body it recruits make students sometimes wonder: “Why the heck am I here?” or “Do I belong in this social network?”

Imposter syndrome can cause anxiety and stress, and subsequently decrease levels of good hormones, including testosterone, which may limit one’s drive to take risks. Evolutionarily, this perception may have motivated us to strive towards perfection, but it comes at the cost of spiraling negativity.

While networking may help to combat imposter syndrome by finding social groups that we are comfortable with, it can also potentially exacerbate the feeling if our peers confirm our fears and don’t include us in their networks.

The complexities of balancing the positives and negatives of social connections, as well as maintaining awareness of the potential pitfalls have led some scientists to try and determine a ‘friendship limit.’ Perhaps the most famous of these is Dunbar’s number, which, based on the size of various primates’ neocortices (a part of the brain believed to be responsible for social relationships) and their group sizes, posits that humans can have a maximum of 150 meaningful social connections, with nesting circle sizes of 15 good friends and 500 acquaintances.

While this calculation is quite controversial, it nonetheless highlights the importance of making friendships of quality over quantity. It is important to be aware of your role in social situations and consider whether this role aligns with your core values.

Connecting with people is one of the great joys of living in a society. It has enabled us to achieve remarkable things, like entomologists collaborating to collect millions of insect specimens or engineers sending people to the moon. We are in a unique period of time where every person is a node in a truly interconnected network — we are, in essence, an evolutionary masterpiece!

As my column comes to an end, I’m grateful to have been part of your reading network over this semester. While I have examined empirical evidence behind Harvard culture and traditions, there is still much unknown about how we function in our daily lives, and much to question. I hope this column has encouraged you to continue to reflect on the how and why of our actions, and to stop and think about the beauty, and complexity, of the natural world around us!

Sandhya Kumar ’26 lives in Greenough Hall. Her column, “Science ‘n Tradition,” runs on alternate Tuesdays.