Facebook - Liking for life points

Facebook-Liking for life points

I barely use Facebook anymore. When I’m idly flicking through my smart phone mid commute my finger hovers over the Facebook app with reserve. 

I have been using Facebook since 2006 and I have seen it go through many changes, layout, style, the linking of games (I was hooked on a little kitchen game for several months making imaginary spaghetti, not to mention one bizarre game where I was a vampire for a short time) and the improvements in technology; photos take mere seconds to load.

 But the advancements are not the reason I am hesitant.  No the reason for my distaste comes in the form of the bombardment of slogans/captions people encourage you to support or using the correct terminology…Like. If you use Facebook at any point over the last six months I am sure you will recognise what I mean. 

“Like if you support….*insert a cause*”, “Help the *insert cause* by Liking this post ignore if you don’t care”. This is usually followed by a sad emoticon, guilt trip. Other such variations include, the one I like to call the ‘horror story’ – BEWARE drinking/eating *insert name brand product* caused my cousins foot to drop off!” please share and stop this atrocity happening again!! Or WARNING washing my baby in *insert desired target* turned them into a wolf child. Like to get something done!! Did this happen? I doubt it. But with 5,000 likes surly the authorities must be involved?!  I hear you cry. No, because liking a small image gives it no more credibility than my imaginary spaghetti. 

The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was a ‘shock value’ slogan. These in my opinion are the worst offenders. They include an image of a grizzly scene in which some poor human/animal has met an untimely end. Then underneath it asks you to like the image. In my case it was a picture of a dead child. I don’t understand how anyone could find that appropriate to do something so light hearted as Like. 

The more positive of your FB friends may have posted something funny  like a comically dressed animal, baby doing a funny face, or something along the lines of how they cannot cope with the working week with the equivalent of the hang in there kitty picture.  

Sadly it seems that these sorts of slogans/captions are over taking this social media at an alarming rate. What’s even more worrying is the thought that the action of liking does some good. I’m talking real world good, change, support. It does nada. Nothing is gained from liking. Liking, is not a life point. It does not give you the ability to enforce law, change conditions or challenge conglomerates. It’s simply a button with a thumbs up; which from the content of most posts seems in bad taste.

However, I am hoping like many of its predecessors this trend will start to dip, ultimately giving into a wave of the next “like-able” action.