The vital need to connect with others
Networks and networking can be a professional way of articulating a deeply human requirement to engage and act socially; to connect with others. In other words, achieving fulfilment and happiness. It is obvious that humans are innately social creatures, yet sociability is more than simply a way to pass the time; it is in fact central to how our species functions. Interacting in networks is constitutive of creating meaning and understanding existence in an ongoing to and fro between people. In social interactions people establish systems and processes which are intended to be helpful and productive for all. The German social Philosopher Jürgen Habermas calls this the emancipatory domain (1).
So central is this component of human existence that such practice is linked to reward within the brain, as it is reported to account for happiness, and good cognitive health in adults. It appears that humans involved in meaningful interactions build ‘cognitive reserve’, compensating for pathology, with a buffering effect on stress where such social ties promote positive health behaviours. Benefits are understood to be generous and include: a reduction in stress which positively influences memory and executive functioning or social network interactions which assist with reasoning attention and processing speed, (2). These important effects of networks and networking emanate from a biological-cognitive interface ability that exists in most mammals, particularly apes, and most strongly developed in humans. Much of this may derive from the ability to mentalise ‘… the ability to understand and manipulate other’s behaviour in terms of mental states’ (3 p. 1692). It follows that many of the positive effects of self-actualisation, fulfilment and connectivity are achieved in a process that is driven by individuals themselves, rooted in their own sense of agency, and driven by the individual urge to find connection and identity with the group (4; 5).
Despite the complexity afforded by millions of years of evolution, many networks and networking experiences are now experienced in the non-corporeal, within organisations and social interaction. Networks are often delineated as either social or professional and the relatively new phenomenon of computer interaction has brought forth emergent social-professional online networks such as ‘LinkedIn’ or ‘Research Gate’ as pertinent examples of how the two may be conjoined (6). These are networks that appear to do much of what embodied (physical) networks do (did), and for many their online mode may appear as the major challenge in giving members a sense of agency and in developing powerful interactions. However, the reflection which follows indicates that it is less ‘how’ interaction is provided, and more ‘who’ decides.
Algorithms as top-down systems