Twitter lets users communicate like social animals at a global level

SOCIAL networks operate in the same way across all species, including humans, according to a 10-year study into the way animals behave. Scientists found that the sharing of information through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook reflects mechanisms animals have always used to gather information about their social environment.

Experts found evidence of animals forming cliques and gathering information to help make group decisions. The study was conducted by Dr David Lusseau, of the University of Aberdeen’s School of Biological Sciences, who examined dolphins, whales and primates.

He said: “The social-networking technology most of us now employ on a daily basis helps us to behave at a global scale in the same way we do with people we see every day, in the way animals have always communicated.”