Not all likes are created equal, and some are more equal than others

In this great time of social media, the one thing that I believe equalizes others, is the "like" button on Facebook.

Show someone a cute picture of a cat looking stupidly out a window -- "like".

Stating that you just graduated from college and are ready to take on the world -- "like".

Posting that your pet was just run over by a motorist and that you need the plate number searched for -- "like".

People seem to think that "liking" something means anything from really liking it to "I totally abhor what happened but I can't really be bothered to comment on it so here's a sympathetic click on your post".

I do believe that has a lot to do with our need to be acknowledged and people just extrapolate this into the ether and social space.

It is funny though, that some of us still clinging to the dictionary definition of "like" seem to be **misusing** it in their eyes.

You know it's evil likeness compels you to click, go ahead....

like²

līk/

verb

verb: like; 3rd person present: likes; past tense: liked; past participle: liked; gerund or present participle: liking

1. 1.

   find agreeable, enjoyable, or satisfactory.

   "I like all Angela Carter's stories"

   synonyms:

   be fond of, be attached to, have a soft spot for, have a liking for, have regard for, think well of, admire, respect, esteem; More

   antonyms:

   hate

   • indicate one's liking or approval of (a web page or posting on a social networking website) by using the site's ‘like’ facility.

     "more than 15,000 Facebook users had liked his page by Monday morning"
2. 2.

   wish for; want.

   "would you like a cup of coffee?"

   synonyms:

   choose, please, wish, want, see fit, think fit, care to, will More

   • used as a polite formula.

     "we would like to apologize for the late running of this service"
   • feel reluctant to do something.

     "I don't like leaving her on her own too long"
   • choose to have (something); prefer.

     "how do you like your coffee?"

     synonyms:

     choose, please, wish, want, see fit, think fit, care to, will More

   • feel about or regard (something).

     "how would you like it if it happened to you?"

     synonyms:

     feel about, regard, think about, consider More

I want to be able to tell people "I really like this bar" not "I feel that this place is agreeable and probably will keep looking into updates from its site for no reason whatsoever".

I like Ice cream, but I don't believe I need to tell Facebook and the world that, so that they can cater ice cream ads for me (while fun, a lot of these I can't get at my location).  I like BMW, but I honestly don't care about their Facebook presence, and honestly if you believe that BMW will give a 5 series away for liking and sharing a picture, well, I have a bridge I want to sell to you...

Liking something should be a gut feeling, not a reflex.  I like certain people while I find others invariably dull.

Admit it, he's quite the bad-ass

While I'll gladly follow Neil deGrasse Tyson on Facebook, and I LIKE his science communicator status, I don't like him as a person.  I don't KNOW him so I can't really say I like him.  I find him funny, I find him engaging, I find him a fountain of knowledge that I look up to and respect, and yet, I can't say I like him, because I don't have a personal bond with him in any way.

The same way I will NOT accept invitations to be "friends" with people I met once, at a party, through a friend, while inebriated; I will not just "like something" you send my way unless, I really DO genuinely like it.

If, what you want is my >click< so that your new page becomes synthetically popular, do feel free to let me know, as if this is an endeavor that your heart honestly desires, I'll gladly show my support for in some way, probably by sharing the page with others and TELLING them this is something you really feel strongly about, and how it could potentially enrich their lives >because reasons<.

But, I will not just blindly like it.