Looking for a little affirmation that people like you? You may be more likely to head to Facebook in search of "likes," according to a new study.

People who have higher levels of activity in the part of the brain associated with rewards like food and sex when they get positive feedback are more likely to be avid Facebook users, a study by researchers at the Free University of Berlin found. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, indicate that a need for positive affirmation may drive people to use Facebook.

The study is the first to relate brain activity to social media use, its lead author Dar Meshi wrote in an email to The Huffington Post.

“Essentially, a neurobiological link was made between brain activity for reputation-related social reward and intensity of Facebook use,” Meshi wrote.

The researchers made that connection by focusing on the nucleus accumbens -- a part of the brain that’s activated when people receive rewards. The 31 experiment participants filled out a survey about their Facebook use and also filmed an interview video. The next day, the participants were hooked up to a brain scanner while 10 anonymous people watched and reviewed their videos. Researchers found that the participants whose nucleus accumbens got more excited when their video received positive feedback, relative to when the other participants’ videos got positive feedback, were more likely to be active Facebook users.

“We found that we could predict the intensity of people's Facebook use outside the scanner by looking at their brain's response to positive social feedback inside the scanner,” Meshi wrote in his email. “We found that the more sensitive a person’s nucleus accumbens is to discovering their own reputation is good, specifically in relation to discovering another person’s reputation is good, the more likely they are to have an intense relationship with the Facebook.”

But those looking for some positive affirmation maybe shouldn’t rush to Facebook to get it. A study from University of Michigan researchers published earlier this month found that increased Facebook use predicts declines in happiness.

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  • 1. Strangers

    You'd think this would be a no-brainer, but, apparently, quite a few Facebook users have no problem adding strangers as friends. According to a study <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/11/one-in-five-willing-to-make-facebook-friends-with-complete-strangers/" target="_hplink">released late last year</a>, about one in five users were willing to add a complete stranger as a friend on Facebook. If you'd really like to interact with people you don't actually know without exposing your personal information, consider adding <a href="https://www.facebook.com/about/subscribe" target="_hplink">Facebook's "Subscribe" button</a> to your Timeline; that way, you can let others view your public updates without having to add them as Facebook friends.

  • 2. People Who Like To Friend Everyone

    Probably not the best idea to friend those who you know like to add everyone they can as a friend on Facebook, including strangers. That can leave your personal information open for creeps to see, especially if your <a href="https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy" target="_hplink">privacy settings</a> allow friends of friends to view certain info.

  • 3. Your Loved One's Exes

    Just plain awkward...Unless, of course, your current boyfriend or girlfriend is still really good friends with his or her ex and you have the will power to resist Facebook stalking them. But beware! Friending your loved one's ex may expose comments, pictures and more you'd rather not let them see.

  • 4. Your Boss

    Sure, everyone makes mistakes. But if you happen to post one of those "mistakes" on Facebook when you're friends with your boss, you may end up getting fired. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/26/fired-over-facebook-posts_n_659170.html#s115707&title=Swiss_Woman_Caught" target="_hplink">These 13 people</a>, for example, were fired for mistakes they made on Facebook, which included everything from writing the wrong thing to posting offensive pictures. In this case, it's probably better to be safe than sorry.

  • 5. People Who Like To Advertise Everything

    It's bad enough seeing PR-type posts from people and companies that we don't even follow <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/new-facebook-ads_n_1311154.html" target="_hplink">on our News Feeds</a>, so why exacerbate that problem by following those who like to advertise everything? Whether they're an actual public relations rep, a budding musician who posts way too many videos or one of those people whose statuses look like "I ate Trix for breakfast this morning, lol" we we suggest staying away from these types. Unless of course you like that kind of thing.

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