Today, there a so many different social media platforms on which people choose to share their life.
Facebook allows people to write statuses, share others' posts, and create albums of photos. Twitter, while trying to remain more status based, holds similar ideas. Instagram remains more for posting pictures of your everyday things, and the list goes on.
While all of these social media profiles hold different means of sharing along with different profile standards, they all seem to have one thing in common: the ability to "Like" something.
At first glance, the "Like" button, in whatever form it takes on in the social media platform, seems totally harmless. It is simply a way for us to tell others, "Hey, you told everyone about how your day went, and I want you to know that I saw it, I am acknowledging it, and I think it's pretty cool."
However, it seems to me to be so much more than that now. People pick and choose what to post on what will get them the most likes. Because let's be honest, our social media likes show everyone else just how popular we are.
Right?
Wrong.
I think that the "Like" button, in every form, was bad for our society.
Sure, some can claim that our world has always been based on social standards of hierarchy within our own group of friends, but that stands in no comparison to the way people compare themselves to others or look at others today.
I caught a co-worker getting upset the other day because her picture only got 60 likes in one hour. I stood in amazement questioning the importance of this statement. I questioned that people actually monitor this stuff and got into a small discussion about the importance of likes. It was established that the number of likes you get on a picture affects how others look at you.
This seemed a bit irrational to me so I delved in further.
We then discussed how girls look at guys based on their average likes on their photos. But what determines the "supposed" number of likes one should have? Not enough most likely means that something is wrong with him, be it that he is weird or unpopular. However, too many likes ensures that the guy is a player. I was speechless in how to approach this situation as I, again, saw it to be completely irrational. How does one determine who a person is based on likes from those who probably have never even met them?
I think it is safe to say that girls are the biggest judges on things like this.
They know everyone who unfollows them, everyone who unfriends them, and, most importantly, everyone who does not like their photo. It has a become a game for today's society of seeing who likes them by who likes their photos. People have begun stalking their significant others to see if that bitch, Jenny, down the hall has liked their boyfriend's selfies. If she has liked more than 4, he is definitely sleeping with her. And apparently, this conclusion is valid. It's not.
The worst part about all of this crazy nonsense is that I am supporting this type of mindset. So are you. Every time we like a picture on social media, we are catering to those who need those likes or who search for them. While scrolling through social media, I see a photo I like, why do I like it? To tell myself that I do?
But I already know that I do, so I'm just telling everyone else that I like it.
On top of that, people play games with their significant others by liking pictures of other people hoping that they see it. I don't know..I think this whole concept is nonsense.
But seriously, this is a thing in today's generation. Not something made up. Not something that pulled from one person. This is common and probably not going anywhere anytime soon. Welcome to 2017.
