There is an unwritten law that says “we like to be liked,” and social media seems to have taught us that we have to be liked. Based on this, I ask the question: are we hooked on ‘likes’ and social acceptance, or is it not a bad thing to like something, given that “likes” are now part of our lives?

3 months ago · 👍 bavarianbarbarian, mimas, ruby, rdlmda

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5 Replies

@ruby *like :P · 3 months ago

I've done my part by liking this post. Did it feel good? Did I do a good job? Too bad I'll never know because station doesn't support likes for comments. :) · 3 months ago

It's what the Stoics would call a "Preferred Indifference". Thht is, while it is nice to feel liked by others, it's also something which is beyond our control - no one can actually make someone like them and as such it makes no sense to worry about it too much or waste energy chasing it. · 3 months ago

The unwritten law in this case is biology. To borrow from Sapolsky, the neurology of your reaction is locked in well before the moment it happens, the moments leading up to it, your childhood development, or even many generations back. For that reason it might be unavoidable now, but I wouldn't say that makes it "not bad." Ideally we would guard against it culturally, regarding like buttons as we do cigarettes. We probably won't though and it will be treated more like money. · 3 months ago

@psyko i don't give a fuck if someone likes me or not, do it or not, i won't change my behaviour. gtfo with 'likes', we don't need no education.. · 3 months ago