What if you woke up tomorrow and every like on every photo you’ve ever posted disappeared? You panic, what the hell is going on? You open up your Snapchat to see if anyone has viewed your most recent mundane adventure made 15 second epic and you can’t see who viewed your shining moment. Gasp! OMFG. Heart beating, face pulsing. You check some super famous ‘influencer’s’ account and you’re relieved, all her likes are gone too!
At least it’s not just you, God forbid.
We can all pretend that we don’t care about likes, but somehow we check our phones constantly after posting something to see who liked it. We re-watch the videos we just posted of ourselves again and again because well, who better to watch then yourself? We even watch other people’s stories, a.k.a. reality shows because you want them to watch you back. Most probably know who their frequent followers are that tune in each episode and wonder why they skipped one.
Your plot wasn’t thick enough.
Even though you barely know your followers, it feels good to know they’re watching you. The thing is, no one really truly likes something they spent less than a few seconds viewing.
We have rehabs for addiction to substance and sex. Have likes become a substance? The hormone oxytocin is released every time we get likes, which is the same hormone that makes sane girls go psycho over a guy. Google it. If we have this sacred duty as a community to help people, then maybe the most powerful companies in the world should start to really think about the future of digital substance abuse. Did Facebook (or shall I say Myspace, long live Tom.. I once matched with him on Bumble, which is fruity) set out to create a new substance to be abused? No. Social media is a powerful tool to connect people and bring the world to you, but the
internet has become the most dangerous destination you can travel to.
We’re addicted to likes and it’s the core to millennial self-obsession. The future used to be America’s youth, but the future really does lie in the Last Gen, those who remember. Remember remember.
Think about it. What if you could post your moments and no one could like them, would you still post? Would you spend less time on your phone? Would spend less like looking at other people?
What if Facebook and Instagram allowed people to disable likes? Or Snapchat completely anonymized who is watching you? Would it detox like addicts? What a wonderful social world it might be.
Quick Story:
I’m a deleter. I confess. I’m slowly learning that not all things done can be undone, like impulsive text messages to ghosts, but hallelujah, because I’m no one. My posts can be deleted and most likely never recovered. There’s this unspoken taboo placed upon people who delete, but why TF would there be a delete button if otherwise? We change everyday and I personally think
I have bi-polar social media disorder.
Yesterday I decided to delete all my facebook photos except for my profile photo. I wanted a blank slate and quite frankly, when I look at old photos I think, “that’s no longer me.” Everything holds energy. I accidentally deleted my latest facebook profile photo with a whole twenty something likes and a comment and I actually was like “SHIT.” I omg googled, “How to undo deleting a facebook photo.” You can’t. Whomp. Whomp. Then I thought, shit, what are people going to think if I repost it? Then I was like what the fuck is wrong with me? I don’t even know anyone on my facebook! Like seriously, I really know like three people.
Who do you know? Who do you really like?
