"... they just do. Same with those that veer toward the needlessly inspirational and/or sentimental... Maybe if I just relaxed and supported people regardless of their content, I might free myself from this prison of my own making. I recently tested out the 'post liking = better person' theory: The image was a beautiful fall landscape somewhere upstate followed by a photo of the poster’s beautiful face drenched in sunlight with a caption about 'healing' and the 'precious ephemerality of golden hour' (!). I fought my instinct to ignore it and went ahead and hit 'Like.' And you know what? It took nothing. I felt nothing. Except for a little glimmer of positive self-regard. Maybe being a little nicer, a little more generous...."
From "Fine, I’ll Just Like the Instagram Post Portrait" by Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz (The Cut).
Oh, let's just stop at "I felt nothing." It made me think of this old song:
Sometimes nothing is the right level of feeling. You don't have to jazz it up to a spicy self-regard.
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11 comments:
It costs you nothing to "like" a post, but it might bring a little joy to the poster. This is especially important to consider if the poster is lonely or prone to isolation.
Box score for this post: Dance 10 Looks 3
I’m stingy with my likes. You gotta earn them. Treacle will rarely get you more than an eye roll.
Wait, there is a "cancer season?"
I have no clue what this is about but I have learned this week that if you are alone over the holidays and enjoying red wine it's best to be naked in case you have an accident.
>"photos of red wine paired with sullen captions about cancer season"<
Um, what??
"Averell Harriman--nothing"
The Fug - Nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZlUa-amyTc
It takes longer to deny the like than to give the like... if you're talking about someone you know. So just give it automatically and be honest with yourself. It's a convenience *for you* and not any virtue on your part.
If you don't know the person, take even less time and have the default be not to like. Only like if you're really stopped by the post itself and drawn to give it your time.
My thought is that if you are following someone, the like indicates that you saw the post. It indicates that you support the work and want to see more. The exceptions are for repeats or clickbait.
If it is not from a routine read then the like should be more discerning and shows you found the item noteworthy.
It is all fake internet points anyway, but it is worth giving creators the feedback that someone is listening.
"Old song?" Well I guess that shows how much time has passed me by. It seems like just the other day that people were bringing record albums of the Broadway soundtrack of A Chorus Line to cast parties. It was a time of Led Zeppelin, Foreigner, live theater and three speed on the tree.
Pro tip. Abjure and abstain from social media to avoid these agonies.
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