Brainchild

Oh. My. God.

This post is life.

She's so savage.

I want to be her so bad I could scream!

Why are you freaking out?

Selfie Queen just posted a new photo on Instaglam.

-It's so good. -So good, I have to share it.

That is pretty good, as in too good to be true!

What you talking about? Selfie Queen is as real as it gets.

-The realest. -So real.

Oh, really?

867 likes MY PERFECT DAY

3 HOURS EARLIER

-No way. That's not true. -I don't believe you.

Whatever. I still love her.

If you've ever wondered why you don't look like the people you see on social media,

well, they don't even look like that.

The truth is, social media is not real life,

but it is a great way to stay informed, stay connected--

Hey! Are you even paying attention, or did you just check your phone?

It's time to discover the good, the bad,

and the OMG of social media, on Brainchild.

SOCIAL MEDIA

- This is 2H. Helix! - Take two.

GETTING READY TO SHOOT BRAINCHILD! #BingeWorthy

Whether you use Facebook, Instagram,

Twitter, Snapchat or Flounder...

Kidding. I made up Flounder.

Social media and smartphones have become a way of life.

Imagine if you didn't have a smartphone...

No!

like this guy. Try to count everything a smartphone replaces in this scene.

I don't, er, I don't see what's so smart about smartphones.

I got everything I need right here.

Like video games? Check it out. I'm playing right now.

Just got the high score.

What about movies? You like movies? I got tons of movies here.

Got Gnome Sweet Gnome.

That's really good. Then I got my calculator

if I want to do math.

I even got a calendar.

-Look at that. It's June. -Miaow!

I got a flashlight. I got a Rolodex.

Like selfies?

This is the original selfie. Look at that.

There we go. Perfect.

In about two minutes, we'll get a perfect photograph right there.

-This is my friend's cat. -Miaow!

You like taking videos? This is the best.

Got an old video camera here.

And it's 100% portable.

-But-- -See? Portable.

Do you like music?

Great. This is great. This is perfect for music.

You like getting likes on your stuff?

This is a real like right here. Yeah.

If there's anything I don't know, I get my friend Gary.

He knows everything.

Get over here. Come on. Gary.

GARY KNOWS EVERYTHING

Do you know there are six main kinds of corn?

I did not.

There's different stuff in every one.

-Gary, we're having a conversation here. -Ok.

Did you catch all of the items your smartphone replaces?

My friend Gary.

Pretty amazing that all of that

fits in one of these.

While there's no denying that smartphones are both portable and powerful,

with great power comes great responsibility.

That's because what you do online affects what happens in real life.

Which one is me?

At school, I'm super sporty and trendy.

But online, I can totally geek out on Manga and the ukulele.

If I wear my favorite tie-dye jacket, I might get one compliment.

-Nice jacket. -But if I post myself wearing it online...

Boom! Compliment overload.

Then again, if I...

fail IRL...

Aggh!

maybe one person will see it and then quickly forget.

But if I fail on social media,

everybody sees it, and it sticks around forever.

Keeping track of two yous with one brain can be exhausting,

so how do you stay sane and be your best in both worlds?

First, you need to understand

why you and your friends behave the way you do online.

And to do that, we're gonna play a game.

-What?. -In real life.

THIS USER IS OFFLINE

Hmm.

Popular pics.

Take a look at these two social-media posts.

All you have to do is decide which one you like better:

selfie cat, which got over 2 1/2 million likes,

or the chill kangaroo, which only got 13 likes.

So, got your pick?

Now check out which photo some other people chose.

I like the cat picture taking the selfie.

I like the cat-selfie one.

I really like the cat selfie.

That looks like the cat is the boss of all of them, so --

I think it's funnier.

Interesting. So far, all the volunteers picked Clicky Kitty.

Do you think there's anything we can do to get more votes for Chill-a - roo?

Let's see what happens when we make one small change.

I like the kangaroo.

I like the kangaroo, he's pretty dope.

-I vote for the roo. -Absolutely.

So, what did we change?

The answer may surprise you.

When we wanted volunteers to pick the cat, we showed them this version of the photos,

where the cat had 2 1/2 million likes,

and the kangaroo only had a handful.

But when we wanted them to pick the kangaroo,

we showed them the kangaroo was the one with 2 1/2 million likes,

while poor kitty only had a few.

So, why would an already popular photo with tons of likes

make more people like it?

Here to help explain is our science friend, Alie Ward.

When it comes to humans, doing and liking what's popular

is something we're hardwired to do.

It's why popular performers enjoy more fame and fortune

and popular brands and products

sell more merchandise.

So, it only makes sense that given an uncertain choice,

people tend to follow the herd and do what's popular.

That's because copying the behavior of others

is a practical, adaptable behavior necessary for survival.

Whether it was choosing between a nutritious or poisonous food

or a safe path over a dangerous one,

going along with the crowd could mean the difference between life and death.

And while taking pics of kangaroos or cats is fun...

the thing you take pictures of the most is...

yourself!

The average millennial takes about 25,000 selfies in their lifetime.

Almost every day.

A selfie a day.

Mmm two or three a day.

A groupie, selfie, an us-ie.

I take all those.

But not all selfies are created equal,

we're about to show you the secret science behind selfies.

Best selfie ever.

Take a look at these photos of our Selfie Queen.

Which one do you think will get her the most likes?

Got your pick? I bet you chose

number three. How do I know?

Because research shows when the camera is both elevated and tilted,

making the eyes seem larger,

people rate the subjects of the photo as more likable.

It's why so many people have photos in the same overused pose.

But people, please, no duck face.

Quack! Quack!

Urrgh!

Once you take that selfie, you'll want to post it on social media.

But how should you tag it? Find out in this next game.

Best post ever.

Listen to these three posts,

and decide which one you would like if you saw it on social media.

I hate that I always get picked for the lead in the school play.

It's so much commitment!

I got the lead in the school play! #youknowit.

How am I supposed to memorize all these lines?! #whatsmyline?

So if you had to pick one, which post would you like?

Got your answer?

Hang onto it while we show you a few more posts.

I hate it when the teacher singles me out for getting the highest test score.

#beingsmartishard.

I got the highest score on the test! #imagenius.

I hate taking tests. #mathstinks.

Okay.

Got your picks? Fantastic.

Now, let's see if I can predict which posts you liked.

So, I'm guessing it wasn't the last one.

And it probably wasn't the first one.

Which leaves the middle one.

Did I get it right? If so, there's a reason for that.

Nobody likes a bragger or someone who's full of themself,

but there's actually something even worse.

Bragging, but trying to seem like you're not.

So enter the humblebrag.

I hate that I always get picked to be the lead in the school play.

I hate it when the teacher singles me out for getting the highest test score.

Now, while humblebragging might seem like a less obnoxious strategy than bragging,

be careful, because it actually might backfire.

Now, in recent studies, researchers have found

humblebraggers actually come across as way less likable

than people just outright bragging.

So, if you've got good news to share...

I got the lead in the school play!

I got the highest score on the test!

...go ahead and own it. People might even respect you more.

Speaking of,

I look good.

I look good, right now. Ha!

Back in the day, this was considered social media.

Tweet.

Now, it's something most of us do on a daily basis.

But that doesn't mean you can't still find magic in it.