Sharing
When we openly dislike something on Facebook we are basically sending a message to that person, it “feels like delivering a slap in the face (and not even a well-timed slap, since you can’t be sure when they’ll find out)”. There aren’t any hidden messages in a dislike. Likes on the other hand can be somewhat confusing. You may like something because you actually like what is being posted or shared, or you may like it for a friend, or might not have even liked it but were interested in the points being made and decided to put it aside for later by saving it with a like. In terms to the question of how do like and dislike buttons affect social media we can see that people are looking for the likes. They are practically fishing for them in a sense by putting their picture or post on a hook and dangling it in front of the world. A friend of mine who is an excellent photographer posted a picture on Instagram that he describes took him a lot of time and effort to capture it at that precise moment and to edit it in such a way that it looks really good. He received 46 likes. A girl posted a picture that in my opinion isn’t even that good and the opinion of others I know and she received a thousand likes. More than anything we look for recognition whether it is for our work or for our opinions. It is because of things like this that the fact the shares and likes are all posted publicly for the world to see is hurting a lot of people. It may be helping causes that are actually out there trying to make a difference but when recognition for well-earned work isn’t appreciated for a selfie or something of that sort, it puts people down, artists, innovators and all those who try to add more to social media that just a selfie. For example when someone who wants to post amazing pictures of nature gets less likes than a girl in a bikini, it brings down that artists spirit. By showing the amount of likes something gets it hurts those who people didn’t want to take the time and effort to double tap their screen or press the like button on Facebook. Those who do benefit from this are the ones receiving multiple likes for lesser show of talent; however this might not be the case for many people and their pages, but a lot of people fall into this category, like creating an unofficial fan page for a celebrity. Why should this page receive more likes than the one showing starving kids in Africa that are in need of real assistance?
https://www.facebook.com/Justin-Beiber-fans-491602367595652/?fref=ts
What point did this page have? It has more likes than I have in all my videos on Instagram combined. This isn’t to say I’m a horrible photographer, or there are those who can be led to assume that I don’t post anything of worth and that could be true. But the official fan page is right around the corner. There is no need for these extra little things that only contribute to mass amount of people being made to feel left out. This is why the costs of sharing and distribution are far worse than people believe, when those who are actually trying to make an impact on the world don’t receive as much credit as those who have some spare time on their hands. It just doesn’t seem fair.
The proper thing to do is to implement a clearer way for social media users to express their feelings properly. By limiting our communication and not allowing us to use proper words to discuss our feelings towards each other we become closed minded and always just think about the likes and dislikes no matter what is actually trying to be said.
Bibliography:-
https://www.facebook.com/Justin-Beiber-fans-491602367595652/?fref=ts
