As I noted in last night’s post about my venture into Instagram, I just finished a great book that offered a lot of insight into how Instagram got started and the impact it has had on society.
The book highlighted several times how many of the users of Instagram are obsessed with the number of likes and comments they can get for their posts, and the pressure they feel to post “perfect” photos.
And while that is certainly concerning, I was perhaps more surprised at one point when the author, Sarah Frier, noted that even the top influencers and celebrities are concerned with how people are going to react to their posts.
So that got me thinking.
What if that’s all we really want in life – for people to like us.
Whether it’s in real life or online.
Don’t we all want that feeling of being accepted, to feel like we’re part of a community?
So maybe our goal in life really isn’t to find our purpose or to find out what life is all about or about helping others.
Some people may say they don’t care if people like them; either they aren’t quite telling the truth or they could be a sociopath.
I’ll admit that I am guilty of such behavior. I might say I don’t care how many likes I have for one of my posts, but that’s not quite true.
I hope people like me, both in real life and in cyberspace.
Why would I want the opposite outcome?
So there you go – no need to read any fancy books on philosophy. I’ve saved you the time.
Life is all about being liked.
P.S. Here’s confirmation of my premise from Sally Field:
P.P.S. After reading this post, I realized I might be the sociopath…
P.P.P.S. Despite what you may think of this post, please do me a favor and like it… 🙂
LOL
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Humans are narcissistic creatures. We like a attention to varying degrees. Personally I find worrying about the perfect pic for Instagram way to much work. Haven’t posted to my account in months. I prefer to use my words, which is also why I started blogging.
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Good way to put it; we all want/need attention, to varying degrees. And I’m glad I never got caught up in the quest for perfection on Instagram…
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If Sally Field said it it must be true.
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you now it…
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And then as well.
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maybe I should learn to type… 🙂
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Lolz. No worries, I’ve been there two.
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or their 🙂
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True.
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Social Media like addiction in a nutshell for sure haha
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yup, guilty as charged 🙂
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Hahaha
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Maybe those who criticize bloggers who want lots of likes are jealous of all the likes they get.
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I’m very jealous of Kim Kardashian. Well, at least her ability to get $1 million for a single post…
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Somehow I suspect that may be an exaggeration. If not, what a racket!
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I think it’s a racket…
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I have an Instagram account with something like seven posts in two years. Just not my deal. I think your basic point about people just wanting to be liked is basic psychology. Lots of advertisements make this pitch and prey on this vulnerability in people.
Great clip of Sally Field. I think I like it so much because her joy is genuine and not contrived.
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that puts you about five posts ahead of me, but I may catch up soon 🙂
And I agree, I think part of being human is a desire to be liked…
And Sally Field is great…
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I don’t look at the number of likes on social media. They can be bought for a few Dollars so to me are meaningless.
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hmmm…. I may have to look into this… 🙂
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I like likes on WP because they are likes and they should also mean views.
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I like the way you said that…
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What we really need are more buttons – Double Like, Really Like and Genuinely Like …. and Really Genuinely Like. You know you have a problem when you get upset because that relative on Instagram never Likes your pictures when you always Like hers!
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or how about Really Dislike… 🙂
and your relative just doesn’t play fair…
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Is this about being “liked” or is it more a desperate need for attention? The deep desire to be seen, noticed, and recognized in this sea of humanity. Social media has definitely changed how we connect in our society, but I am just not sure that it is all good. Great post, Jim!
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I think the problem came about when people on Instagram realized there was money to be made if you started getting enough likes…
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i think it’s all about the human need for connection –
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I agree…
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You are right, who doesn’t want to be “liked” ? Why write posts if we don’t want anyone to read them? The problem with the whole social media “like” thing is how some people base their complete self worth on how many “likes” they get. Thats taking it too far!
I laughed at the sociopath comment. Made me think of a quote for my post tomorrow. You will like it. 🙂
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I think the problem is when people try to turn those likes into a business an then it’s all about the Benjamins…
I’ll keep an eye out for your post 🙂
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You will see the quote post tomorrow, so not long to wait. You may hear more about Teressa and the cowbell tonight , being that you feel so bad for her Dad! 😄
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ok, sounds good. but I may not get to the magic cowbell story until the morning 🙂
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No problem, for it will probably be late tonight at the way its going.
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yes, I still have to think of something to write for my blog today… 🙂
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LOL! Brilliance can happen in the last minute! 🙂
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it could, but rarely for me… 🙂
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I think it has to do with the need for validation as well. I liked your post, please like my comment. We’re good now 🙂
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I agree with you about the validation; I think we all want that to one degree or another. thanks for the like; I’ve returned the favor 🙂
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I loath my addition to validation on wordpress. I put 100% of my energy into every post, therefore I’ve ‘done my best.’ That I only get a dozen or so likes drives me nuts. It’s helpful to see others crave the same thing. Makes me feel less immature. About 20 years ago, I harbored an unnatural crush on Sally Field in the old tv show Gidget.
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yes, I check my stats way too often, and there’s really nothing to be gained from doing so. It’s not I am trying to make money off my blog. (I’d be in trouble if I were.)
And I also had a crush on Sally Field… 🙂
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I think it natural that we want people to like us, but it can become an obsession for some. The vacuous airheads who are famous for being famous, with no apparent talents or skills, have much to answer for.
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Yes, the obsession is a problem, and a big part of that comes from the fact that you can make some big money if you get popular on social media.
And what a strange thing to be known for – famous for being famous…
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I don’t really understand how people who are so undeserving can become rich in this way. One of the mysteries of modern life for me.
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it’s not quite the same, but I wonder why professional athletes are paid such exorbitant amounts to play a game…
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TV companies pay huge amounts to broadcast the games, clubs make huge amounts of money out of those deals, the players realise they are box office and want their cut. We get it here with Premier League football, and the effect has filtered down through the leagues: the game is much more true to its roots at lower levels though.
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There is a lot of money in sports, and I am happy to see that the athletes are getting their fair share. But should they be making more than doctors and nurses and teachers and social workers?
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Of course they shouldn’t, but life has never been fair, has it? At least they are being overpaid for actually doing something, rather than just posting selfies.
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yes, life is unfair. But there is a lot of work that goes into those selfies 🙂
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“…not sure I ‘like’ where this is going, but hey! The lighting here is perfect as is my duck face pout #feelingblessed”
😆🤭
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#feelingblessed indeed 🙂
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This reminds me of the Black Mirror episode where everybody judges each other by the reviews or likes that they get. Pretty scary, yet quite close to what’s happening. Thanks for this post!
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I have not heard of this show; sounds intriguing…
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Oh boy then do you have a good few seasons ahead of you. I myself prefer season two onwards, because that’s where they really explore how our near future could be like, with tech being what it is. There’s one episode that explores killer robots (the dog ones THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE MARKET). Scary stuff.
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OK, now you really got me interested. Hopefully it doesn’t freak me out too much!
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Hi Jim, you always entertain me with your comments about social media and likes and followers, etc. I am glad I have lovely followers who like my imperfect posts and pictures. I never seen perfection as it is impossible to achieve. 95% is good enough for me. Maybe I am also a sociopath?
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I’m the same way; I’d rather get something done than delay it by trying to make it perfect…
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Borden’s world of Blather is always a safe place to land. While I don’t use Instagram, I do find value in people’s affirmation of my writing here on WP.
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I hope to give Instagram a try, just so I can learn more about it, but there are only so many hours in the day. I agree that WP is a nice place to interact with other bloggers…
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Agree that we really want people to accept us and to belong. The like button is a poor substitute for actual relationships but better than nothing.
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Well said, Michael. It’s helpful to have a bit of both, but primarily real life relationships…
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