To 'like?' Or not to 'like?' - That is the question.
When we peruse our social media feeds we are inundated with the very happenings of everyone's days that we sometimes just don't care about... Or do we?
I'll admit it, I am a sucker for Facebook.
Sometimes I will find myself so lost in a world that I end up having to metaphorically 'check' myself, especially when I've found someone's friends' brothers best mates newborn baby photos wondering 'how on earth did I end up here?'
Call it 'Facebook stalking' or whatever you like - but admit it, we've all been there.
But what about when we post something that too will be included in someone else's news feed?
To us, it's special, important or very cool at the time. But to others, it's meaningless, irrelevant and plain old boring.
You can't possibly like everyone's photo or status - that's overkill.
But what about those people that you actually do know well enough that if they don't receive that simple 'like' on that rare photo you post, you automatically feel judged?
Maybe they didn't get to Facebook today - oh wait yes they did... They did just like your best friends' status.
Thanks mate.
Maybe you don't care who pays attention to it or not, but food for thought, why did you post it to begin with? Surely not to brag about how awesome your holiday was/is and how it would suck to be everyone else right now.
Sure, I'm guilty of posting photos of the new amazing gift I call my little man (sparingly compared to others). But it's almost always the same people that pay any attention to the photo. Mostly the new Mama's I've met throughout this journey, or the friends that truly are stoked to see said photo.
What people don't realise is, that when you see their name not appear on the 'people who like this' page, over and over again, you realise they probably just don't really care.
Am I doing the same to others and I don't even realise it?
Blogs are the same. I put my heart into these posts and it means the world when I see people 'liking' the effort I put in and I love reading the comments that sometimes appear. Maybe those who don't know blogging don't realise that we, the writer can see how many views our posts get, which is the best feeling to know that you have reached people. This is akin to the solid effort you've put in to that report at work and your boss saying "Great job, that was spot on!" Sometimes, that's all you need to hear.
I love others photos, blogs, even sometimes status updates. After all, that's why I am on social media, no? Granted it's not for everyone, but that post is something to someone.
I used to be an over-sharer on Facebook when I realised I don't particularly want all of the 121 people I'm friends with, some of which I barely see, looking at what I am doing. So I cut back. I now use Instagram, more so where I know the people who can see my special photos are those who really want to and don't just want to see what I am up to because it may be remotely interesting at 5:30pm whilst they are on the packed train on the way home from work.
Then there are the people who say 'I hate Facebook, I don't want everyone to know what I am up to'. They are often the same people who still are on Facebook, and as I like to call them 'Silent Assassins'. Secretly checking their news feed just as often as you, not showing any activity but judging oh so much. These are the people that you catch every now and then saying 'Oh I saw you were at the beach last week'... Welllllll, did you now?
We all love a bit of Facebook stalk, admit it!
This is the world we live in and the world our children will be born into. So be kind to one another. 'Like' that photo or status today, because it might just mean something to someone.
It's not about the number of 'likes' you receive, it's the meaning of seeing your name behind it. That could mean the world to someone else.
Photo credit:
http://www.the-gild.com/blog/banksy-lookalike-sums-ups-the-problem-with-kids-and-social-media
No comments:
Post a Comment