Do you like likes?

[November]

This topic has been stirring around in my head for a few years. I didnt like likes on facebook and I don't like that other sites are forced into the same format. I have a lot to say on the topic but (as usual) will likely go off track when I try to say it. So I wana know - what do you have to say about it?

Do you feel that likes shape the online world?
Do you notice likes encouraging a sense of entitlement and allowing arsehole behaviour as long as it is popular?
What emoticons do you think should be an option in replies? Do you feel the limit of 5 emotional reactions to be restrictive?
How do a lot of clicks translate into world domination?
Do you see benefits to the world shaping of this model?
Do you notice people that are only open to positive replies/reacts and take offense to anything less than encouraging (in anything from personal opinion to fact)?
Can those who feed on likes experience a disconnect between online importance and real world skills?
Do you post with the aim of receiving likes or with the aim of expressing yourself?

You do not have to answer these all - feel free to pick and choose which you would like to address, but I would be thankful to read your responses on this topic. 🙂

Personally, I think there needs to be a slap emoticon.

 

[Buffy Summers]

I'm not going to answer them all but I will tackle a few. I don't really like likes, though I do use them and I think it's just part of our shortening attention spans (and I include myself in that). Much easier to just click 'like' than to make a comment. But if I was in charge of our forum software development, lol, there wouldn't be likes, there would just be post comments instead (which is not standard while Likes/Reactions are). I guess, though, it depends on what the purpose of the posts that are being liked are. Is it just to see what is most liked, or do people want to discuss it? Likes cut off the discussion ib my opinion.

I definitely think people go batshit if there is a "dislike" button. Years ago karma comments had point values and you could add or take away. Very rarely did anyone take away, but when they did, people were up in arms.

I do not pay attention to Likes at all. I'd much rather have replies than likes.

 

[VisionGuy]

I definitely think people go batshit if there is a "dislike" button. Years ago karma comments had point values and you could add or take away. Very rarely did anyone take away, but when they did, people were up in arms.

I remember this. Good times. LOL

 

[Ethan Reigns]

This topic has been stirring around in my head for a few years. I didnt like likes on facebook and I don't like that other sites are forced into the same format. I have a lot to say on the topic but (as usual) will likely go off track when I try to say it. So I wana know - what do you have to say about it?

Do you feel that likes shape the online world?

Absolutely! I am on a number of forums where likes either do not exist (miata.net, clubroadster.net) or where there are likes and dislikes (miataturbo.net) but most forums have a like mechanism. This is the only forum I am on where I value the likes.

Do you notice likes encouraging a sense of entitlement and allowing arsehole behaviour as long as it is popular?

I don't see that. Some people have a sense of entitlement before they ever join the board and some people exhibit arsehole behaviour just because they can or they don't know any better.

What emoticons do you think should be an option in replies? Do you feel the limit of 5 emotional reactions to be restrictive?

I might add an emoticon once or twice a year so I don't count as a big user. This is the same on every board that has emoticons. I did find them more useful at one time on a board that had about 40 emoticons.

How do a lot of clicks translate into world domination?

You only get world domination if the clicks are monetized in your favour. There are some places on the net where you are charged for clicks - that's how the big internet companies got bigger.

Do you see benefits to the world shaping of this model?

I see it as inevitable that the operators of search engines would be paid by charging for clicks or Google would not exist. But there are some negatives as well - click on some subjects and you will be bombarded by targeted ads.

Do you notice people that are only open to positive replies/reacts and take offense to anything less than encouraging (in anything from personal opinion to fact)?

Yes, and I take it they are like this in person as well. There are differences in reaction to negative comments - some get upset, some are offended and of course, we have had shipper wars on this site for a long time - it got really bad in 2013.

Can those who feed on likes experience a disconnect between online importance and real world skills?

There is an online world. What's this real world I keep hearing about?

Do you post with the aim of receiving likes or with the aim of expressing yourself?

On occasion I have posted something just to get some likes because I know it will happen but for the most part I post what I think and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[Kratos]

I have mixed feelings about likes. Buffy Boards is the only forum I’m on that uses them. They’re good if you just like a post, but replies are more informative imo.

 

[Buffy Summers]

It's better than someone posting "like" lol, but agreed replies are better. 🙂

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Muh easier to just click 'like' than to make a comment. I guess, though, it depends on what the purpose of the posts that are being liked are.

For me it's like saying I agree with this but have nothing else to add. Especially since we are not allowed one or two word posts.

I definitely think people go batshit if there is a "dislike" button. Years ago karma comments had point values and you could add or take away. Very rarely did anyone take away, but when they did, people were up in arms.

I remember this. Good times. People got very upset. Lots of posts about it. Fun to watch. (maybe not for mods as they are no-fun killjoys)

 

[thrasherpix]

BB is the ONLY modern message board I participate in (okay, also the Rooster Teeth board, but I visit it only once a year or so), and thus my only actual experience with Likes and such. As a general rule, I'll use it sometimes to encourage someone who is new, to let those who take a lot of time to make a post to know I read it (I know that with each paragraph I start, I lose more readers, and thus the point for making it, and figure others think the same so I let them know otherwise), and in place of where I might otherwise quote it with "this" (or QFT, or Quoted for Truth) or some such.

Though I'm sure this is a strange concept, I have liked some posts because I appreciated their reasoning they shared and/or got me to see it from a new perspective I haven't before. And I've disliked (though never had the internet tools for that unless I replied, which I did at times) for those I was roughly in agreement with but was expressed in such an alienating, obnoxious way.



That said, I've OBSERVED their use, however, and feel the internet would be better off without them. I understand the theory of them which sounds good (to weed out the trolls while also encouraging others to post) but seen it twisted to enforce conformity instead, turn otherwise engaging discussions into echo chambers, and even relentlessly bully others...one of the worse was a girl of mine who was cyberstalked to give a thumbs down to EVERYTHING she posted without even reading it and to post hateful comments (including for her to kill herself) while the rest of the pack gave Likes to it (think of it as the Hyena spirits online). So yes, in those circumstances it encourages arsehole behavior and much worse.

I've seen people go to extreme lengths to get the likes that they're addicted to (I believe I've read somewhere that it affects the brain and does work like an addiction). Like one was how terrible the book Ready Player One was. As it so happened, a friend had been trying to get me to read that for over a year and I had it on reserve, and I finally got it as the library finally put a one week limit on it, so I saw it as the movie (which I didn't see) played. And thus my mind was fresh when I came onto another "oh those evil men and their privilege" blog posts reviewing the book (hmm, wonder if they got the book just before I did) and couldn't understand some of it...and I finally realized, she had SKIMMED the book with her conclusions in mind. Why? For the clicks, the Likes! It wouldn't be as good if the movie wasn't so big right then. (There are plenty who claim to champion social causes, but are merely exploiting them for money or even pure ego.)


I think that covers about everything (at least indirectly) save emoticons. I personally like them as they help replace facial expressions, so like saying something with a "just having some fun" or "chuckle" expression. Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of passive aggressive use of them so that people will post things that would get them banned from most boards in a heartbeat, but they load it down with smiles, hearts, and peace signs...which essentially ruins it for the rest of us who AREN'T using them passive aggressively. Ideally, such people would have their ability to use those smilies banned for them specifically, but who watches the watchers?

 

[MrsDupas]

This is such an interesting topic. Instead of answering directly your questions, let me give you some information regarding cyberbullying and how it is related to narcissism, (cyber) validation in the form of likes/followers, "victims" and bystanders. I'm deeply involved in these issues because I dislike people trying to put down others, especially when it is "anonymous" (it does and doesn't apply to this forum, we do have a way to minimize aggressive interaction through the moods, but it still might be present in a more "subtle" way as you point in your questions):

1. Likes are often linked to social validation (at least from a psychological point of view). This is a way of gathering "followers" and might encourage some people to stroke their narcissistic side:

“If there’s an opportunity to look good, get attention, to appear attractive and to gather followers, it’s going to draw narcissists,” Campbell says, “whether it’s politics, media or social media.” How to Spot a Narcissist Online

2. There’s a very interesting scientific journal that explores what increases vulnerability among individuals and what causes indifference of bystandards when they observe such behavior (This is the summary: What Makes People Vulnerable to Cyberbullying - And What Stops Bystanders From Stepping In -and this is the article: ScienceDirect).

“Interesting new research has found something that can increase our vulnerability to an online attack. The vulnerability works in two ways – directly, by making us a more attractive plaything for an online bully, but also indirectly by squashing the potential for bystander support.”

“Bystanders are often good people – empathic, kind, compassionate – but they are less likely to intervene in situations of online bullying compared to face to face bullying. What is it about a computer screen that has the power to protect a cyberbully from onlookers?”

“Posts that were more personal in nature seem to stoke more victim blaming and less empathy in bystanders. In these circumstances, bystanders were less likely to show support for a victim of cyberbullying, either by posting a supportive message or by publicly disagreeing with the bully’s comment.”

3. And finally, there’s also work showing how certain individuals seek out anynomous forums with large audiences to strike (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=dayton1525184128335822&disposition=inline):

“perpetrators would seek out online mediums to cyberbully others based on how large the audience was that could witness the bullying. If the cyberbullying could reach a very large audience, it increased the likelihood that the bully would use that medium (Festl, Scharkow, & Quandt, 2013). A study by Barlińska, Szuster, and Winiewski (2013) proposed that a large audience impacts the victim because this allows for bystanders to also become cyberbullies by sharing the information, allowing the cyberbullying to reach more people than it could originally. The larger the audience is, the greater the chance is that at least one of the bystanders will share the content of the cyberbullying (Barlińska, Szuster, & Winiewski, 2013)”

It is a complex topic and it seems that I digressed from the original question (LIKES), but they’ve been linked. I personally like the “likes” because it allows me to show support or encouragement (I also have a narcissistic side that loves getting those likes). But there’s a fine line between social media presence, anonymous forums interaction and cyber-bullying that people should at least be aware of. Here is a website that people might want to check out if they feel aggravated by the behavior of others, it describes useful resources for an adult response: Adult Cyberbullying Targets.

P.S. Sorry for the length, but I think this is useful information to keep in the back of your mind.

Btw, I'm hoping for a few likes 😉.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

@Buffy Summers I don't consider you a no-fun killjoy mod. You are the admin. Which means you have a lot of fun and joy when you dispense your no-fun killjoy mods to do your bidding. You are Sauron and the mods your Ring Wraiths. Or, in the parlance of the forum, you are the First and the mods are your little Calebs.

 

[Taake]

Do you feel that likes shape the online world?
Do you notice likes encouraging a sense of entitlement and allowing arsehole behaviour as long as it is popular?

Yes.

What emoticons do you think should be an option in replies? Do you feel the limit of 5 emotional reactions to be restrictive?

Generally, five is fine. I like the monkey emoticon that covers its eyes, but I use it too much I know. Too many emoticons = increased use of shorthand language instead of actual conversation.

How do a lot of clicks translate into world domination?

All press is good press. As in, a lot of attention is attention. People are talking about it, people know about it... information domination

Do you see benefits to the world shaping of this model?

Not really

Do you notice people that are only open to positive replies/reacts and take offense to anything less than encouraging (in anything from personal opinion to fact)?

Yes, I've seen a number of "who pressed the angry emoji" comments in Facebook threads.

Do you post with the aim of receiving likes or with the aim of expressing yourself?

GIVE ME ALL THE LIKES!
No, but seriously, expressing myself. Though I've noticed that I've gotten worse at posting replys when I think of something, I may just press like on someone's post instead. So I think giving likes has affected my aim of expressing myself properly.

 

[r2dh2]

I'm new here, but I'll try to give you my best answers based on my interactions on social media and other forums.

Do you feel that likes shape the online world?

Yes, it does. Everything these days feels like a popularity contest and likes are an online measure of such.

Do you notice likes encouraging a sense of entitlement and allowing arsehole behaviour as long as it is popular?

Definitely. A person receiving validation through likes is more likely to feel superior and experience a power trip.

How do a lot of clicks translate into world domination?

See previous answer. The more "power" you accumulate through "popularity/likes" the more more likely it is that your views will shape other people's views.

I think it can happen in two ways. People might actually look up to you and support your views. Or people might feel that they need to support you as a way to avoid being excluded from a group, or singled out in a negative way when they disagree with the popular person.

Do you see benefits to the world shaping of this model?

Well, some people might rightfully gain respect through this model and use it for "good," not "evil." For instance, another "popular" person might call out toxic behavior from somebody who is equally "popular" but who is having a power trip. Does it make sense? 🤨

Do you notice people that are only open to positive replies/reacts and take offense to anything less than encouraging (in anything from personal opinion to fact)?

Oh, definitely. But I don't think this is exclusive to those who have accumulated a lot of likes and feel/are popular. I think this is a more common occurrence among the population. The key question is who is likely to openly overreact when taking something personal. "Non-popular" people (I don't want to say unpopular, it just means those who haven't accumulated many likes) might be less likely to speak up if they feel personally attacked.

Can those who feed on likes experience a disconnect between online importance and real world skills?

Absolutely. In the real world, you don't wear a badge stating how many people like you. At least, we don't here in Portugal 🙃.

Do you post with the aim of receiving likes or with the aim of expressing yourself?

Sure, I like "likes," I think it's normal human behavior. Most of us seek out external validation when expressing an opinion.

Personally, I think there needs to be a slap emoticon.

Oh, yeah. But it'd be grossly misused 😅.

Now, can I have some likes please? 😊 Also feel free to use the "love" emoji 😉, but none of the negative ones 😛.

@Spanky. Damn it! I said no angry ones! 🤣 But I guess a "like" is still a "like" 🤣 .

 

[Buffy Summers]

Was I wrong that when HH said "emoticons" I thought she meant the choices of reactions when you press the Like button on here? Or did you mean emoticons in general?

🙂

 

[r2dh2]

@Taake haha, it'd be a great plot for an episode of Black Mirror (if they don't have it already).

 

[Skanky Vamp]

@Anyanka Bunny Slayer I hope @Buffy Summers isn't like a big sister. My big sister would chase me around the house and whip me with Hot Wheels™ tracks, and then hold me down and tickle me until I peed my pants just to entertain her friends.

 

[brinkster130]

Hmm, I've haven't thought much of it when it comes to forums. I guess I just thought of it as a less dramatic version of the old positive or negative karma set-up.

I do however find the content bizarre that people post and share on Instagram for likes. The crying selfies and stories posted during crisis seem to get a lot of engagement, but like who in their right mind thinks to take a crying selfie to post as their cat is dying? Or what kind of panic attack would prompt someone to video themselves? That sort of thing is over the top.

I use likes more and more here, just to keep myself from repeating the same things that have already been said. I guess I feel like my opinion is still being put out there if I hit like on a post but don't post in a thread.

Edit to add - I only use the like emoticons in a positive way. Like if I agree, haha if the post made me laugh, sad if the topic of the post is sad, angry face if the topic is one that makes you angry. I don't think I've ever used the dislike button or used an angry face because I disliked an opinion shared. Maybe I use the buttons wrong?

 

[Stephan]

Cool thread.

Do you feel that likes shape the online world?

It’s all about the likes, man. I read somewhere that a high percentage of people delete posts that are not liked. Can we delete posts here?

Do you notice likes encouraging a sense of entitlement and allowing arsehole behaviour as long as it is popular?

Yeah, it's not surprising tho. We live in an extended high school state where the popular guys run the show (at least in social media, which is pretty much life for many of us).

What emoticons do you think should be an option in replies? Do you feel the limit of 5 emotional reactions to be restrictive?

I think 5 is fine.

How do a lot of clicks translate into world domination?

Back to popularity running the show. We’re more likely to listen to those that have many followers. It's like choosing a restaurant, you go where there's more people because it's a signal of quality. In this case, you might feel the same, even when it's no longer the case - quality does decline. But it’s a vicious cycle that reinforces the moral standing of some people, even when the "quality" might be gone or there's abuse of (online) power.

Do you see benefits to the world shaping of this model?

Maybe it’s easier to spread ideas through a small group of people. The problem is whether this reduced group is “neutral” or “toxic.” And I’d say that more likely than not, those at the top of the food chain might get too full on themselves and believe that rules don’t apply to them. That’s why we need checks and controls in all environments.

Do you notice people that are only open to positive replies/reacts and take offense to anything less than encouraging (in anything from personal opinion to fact)?

Yeah, but I’d say that it’s more related to human nature, no?

Can those who feed on likes experience a disconnect between online importance and real world skills?

I’d say that it depends on whether online presence is anonymous or not. In the case of facebook, twitter and instagram, it can be quite lucrative. Your skills are related to how much you can sell yourself in that online world, which in some cases might collide with the real world (i.e. politicians, journalists, actors, some entrepreneurs, etc.).

Personally, I think there needs to be a slap emoticon.

I'd settle for "I read your post but I purposely choose to ignore what you are saying, deal with it, you're not my cup of tea." Not sure I'll even get my emoticon, tho.

 

[AnthonyCordova]

I like seeing likes in order to measure the popularity of views more generally. Seeing a post get, for example, ten likes and eight more than anyone else gives me a better idea of what the general opinion is of the community at large. Conversely, thematically similar posts that receive none tell me what is more an unpopular position overall. Also, I can understand a specific person's positions by taking note of what types of posts elicit their "like" reaction, without having to read everything they post. So for these reasons more than anything else, I prefer forums with like options.

 

[Annie Hall]

@thrasherpix Do you mean that now people play it fast and loose with likes?

 

[r2dh2]

I came across this picture in instagram. It is hilarious! Very appropriate for this thread 🤣.

"Let's try focus on your posts that do receive comments"



Copyright: The New Yorker