I Like the Absence of Likes

[Amethyst]

Mine too; then again I post so much that it feels as if I get "thanked" a good bit

THANKS!

my thanks rate is maybe 2 per 100 posts.

 

[ckelly78z]

I have been on FB for 10 years, and have never hit the "like" button on anything. I could also care less how many "likes, and shares" any of my posts glean, I have really never noticed.

It is entertaining to look at other people's photos online in social media. I can't believe how many duck face selfies that people post, obviously the same day, with different expressions....

 

[CaptTom]

I agree that an economy of "likes" such as found on Facebook is a bit over the top.

However I use "likes" on other forums (fora?) like this and find it helpful.

It molds good behavior. That dopamine hit from a stranger "liking" what you wrote tends to foster better writing and a friendlier tone.

It cuts WAY down on the volume of pointless "me too" posts.

I, for one, am far more likely to offer an unobtrusive "like" than to waste everyone's time by posting a simple agreement with no new content. And although I do use the "Thanks" button when appropriate, that's also more intrusive for both the sender and recipient, and so needs to be used sparingly.

 

[Amethyst]

Thank heaven my FB friends don't do that. Most are old enough that they know how ugly the duck face looks.

It is entertaining to look at other people's photos online in social media. I can't believe how many duck face selfies that people post, obviously the same day, with different expressions....

 

[ER Eddie]

I disagree that likes/reactions foster pro-social behavior. That is what they hoped it would do, but it doesn't. It actually ends up fostering division, argument, conformity, and other negative features.

Keep it out, please. Its absence is part of why this forum is better than most.

 

[garyt]

I hate to break this to you, but what do you think happens when somebody gets a lot of replies to a thread? Ya, that’s right.... dopamine hit. Likes are just a light touch way of saying “I like what your wrote.” , a “thumbs up”. Each to their own, but there is nothing insidious going on there.

I "like" this.

 

[ER Eddie]

 

[athena53]

I'm on FB a lot but I'm pretty suspicious about Liking and Sharing. If I have something relevant to say about a post, I reply. I get SO tired people posting their scores on quizzes "only 95% of the population can pass" (they did, of course), or challenging me with "I bet nobody will share this picture of a sick kid, WWII veteran, hurt puppy" or "please share if you care about suicide, cancer, puppy mills..." I mean, who doesn't?

Here's one article about the motivation for some of these. It's from the BBB but I;ve read similar articles from other sources over the years.

https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/17149-like-farming-a-facebook-scam-still-going-strong

 

[JoeWras]

I get SO tired people posting their scores on quizzes "only 95% of the population can pass" (they did, of course), or challenging me with "I bet nobody will share this picture of a sick kid, WWII veteran, hurt puppy" or "please share if you care about suicide, cancer, puppy mills..." I mean, who doesn't?

This, along with some other issues, got me to reduce my FB activity significantly. I dumped 75% of my "friends," and only log on once per week to check on relatives. I have a strict rule: mention politics, and you are unfriended. I don't care if you are the pope. My feed is much nicer, but now still full of these "chain letters" and quizes. I'm about to start unfriending anyone with a chain letter. "Please copy and post..."

Yes, unfriend. Not unfollow.

 

[athena53]

Yes, unfriend. Not unfollow.

I've un-friended a handful and un-followed some others. They were on both sides of issues and I agreed with both of them on some issues, but what they had in common was that they couldn't have polite discussions or acknowledge in any way the possible validity of any idea that might weaken their stance.

Another favorite: "It works! FaceBook shows only a small potion of your friends' posts but if you copy and paste this..." (So how can you post about the success of this process BEFORE you copy, paste and re-post it?)

I really do need to access FB less but I'm headed out for a 3-week trip to South America today (yeah, call me crazy) and I find that I enjoy the interaction with friends when I'm traveling even though I know it's bad to broadcast that your house is empty.

 

[Amethyst]

These things are why I have a very small FB friends circle. All are relatives, friends from (former) work, or hobby friends. I won't tolerate guilt trips, begging, or excessive seriousness. FB is an amusement, not a %$!*ing lifestyle.

I'm on FB a lot but I'm pretty suspicious about Liking and Sharing. If I have something relevant to say about a post, I reply. I get SO tired people posting their scores on quizzes "only 95% of the population can pass" (they did, of course), or challenging me with "I bet nobody will share this picture of a sick kid, WWII veteran, hurt puppy" or "please share if you care about suicide, cancer, puppy mills..." I mean, who doesn't?

 

[Nemo2]

"What is the sound of one thank liking?"

 

[EvrClrx311]

There have been plenty of studies recently on the impacts of social media and mental health. Seems to be a direct correlation between our (un)happiness and time spent actively engaged in this game of "likes"... as the OP brought up, this has to do with the dopamine hijacking that takes place when we start to reply on "likes" as validation for the content of our posting. Then it seems many compare their own posting to others...

the phrase "comparison is the theft of joy" comes to mind...

 

[ER Eddie]

One thing that I found interesting was learning about that little delay you get in Facebook, before your notifications pop up. They programmed that in, because they found that there was more of an excitement/dopamine spike when people had to wait a few seconds before getting notified of their likes and mentions. It's similar to the excitement a gambler feels when he pulls the slot machine handle, then waits to see what he gets. The anticipation builds excitement/pleasure/dopamine. Keeps you coming back for more.

 

[scaubie]

Why join an online group like this if you can’t handle the opinion of others...? Solution...Keep your opinions to yourself and protect your sensitive feelings from getting hurt. Geez.

 

[razztazz]

Why join an online group like this if you can’t handle the opinion of others...? Solution...Keep your opinions to yourself and protect your sensitive feelings from getting hurt. Geez.

Has nothing to do with who can "handle" opinions or getting "feelings hurt. "

 

[scaubie]

All good. Relax.

 

[ER Eddie]

Why join an online group like this if you can’t handle the opinion of others...? Solution...Keep your opinions to yourself and protect your sensitive feelings from getting hurt. Geez.

Uh. What?

 

[sengsational]

I thank people for their contributions in this forum, but I'm always on my phone (Android), which doesn't support my typing additional comments. So you all will have to just appreciate the "unqualified thanks."

If you hold down on the "Thanks" button, then open in a new tab, then switch to that tab, you can type stuff. When you submit the page, you're right back where you were. Try it on this post...I need the dopamine hit.

 

[JP.mpls]

Galaxy Boy,
My Megacorp would hand out annual awards to "the best employees ".
They would hand out floating balloons to employees who where nominated to possibly get one of these awards.
(Obviously trying to give positive feedback, but questionable employees were always getting the awards, so most realized it was corp BS.)
Most of my department got balloons, because we were all working on the latest big project.
My coworker brought his balloon home to his kids, and got reprimanded by my horrible boss for doing this. My boss saw the large quantity of balloons in our department as and indication of his wonderfulness.
It makes me gag just thinking about all that BS I left behind.
Take care, JP

At Megacorp, boss wrote an entry for the blog on the company intranet about our group's services. At the weekly [-]waste of time[/-] staff meeting we were instructed to log on and hit the "like" button. I asked, "Why? What does that do?" I never did get an answer. Oh, and I didn't hit "like."

 

[DrRoy]

I would use it if there were a dislike button.

+1. There is angry, but something indicating disapproval or dislaike is fitting in a lot of cases.

 

[Nemo2]

How about an 'ambivalent' button?

 

[REWahoo]

How about an 'ambivalent' button?

Meh...

 

[Nemo2]

Meh...

Touché.