You liked it, but do you really LIKE it?

In the specious realm of the social network, we’re all guilty of trawling for likes from time to time. Why? Because likes can seriously boost our mood, reaffirm our life choices and make us feel well, liked. We post our cherubic offspring, our tropical vacations, our career accolades, and we sit pretty while those notifications come pinging in (we hope). We’ll even ‘like’ to be liked. Can a ‘like’ be self-serving? Mitigating? Thinly veiled hostility?

You betcha.

We ‘like’ for all sorts of reasons, and not always with the purest of intentions. Here’s a shortlist of things one can ‘like’ without necessarily liking:

  1. That cozy shot of an ex with his brand new gf (totally over him)
  2. Ripped post-workout gym selfies: “Nice gains!” (*opens chip bag*)
  3. The 6th selfie – in as many hours – from the same person (you still look the same)
  4. Another boring Tracey post outlining her day’s itinerary (she was unbearable in high school why the hell are we even FB friends)
  5. The bajillionth photo of that baby who looks like Jonathan Winters
  6. Kristen complaining about her job post #115
  7. All the snapchat filters
  8. Memes posted by in-laws
  9. Each and every profile photo of our partners
  10. Your friend’s unfortunate new haircut
  11. Mom group photo updates on a toddler’s rash
  12. Your running route specs (please, STOP)
  13. Posts in feed that reaffirm street cred/political affiliation/righteous indignation
  14. ‘Company’ page for your brother’s friend, the junglist DJ
  15. This post