Just how important are Facebook “likes”?
From being asked to “like” and share posts to liking one’s own posts and updates, just how important are Facebook likes? Does it bother you when some people command more likes than others? Are likes akin to a popularity contest to you or does it just not matter at all whether your posts and pictures get only a trickle of likes or none at all?
While I cannot even begin to grasp everyone else’s opinions on this touchy subject, I can share my own thoughts on this.
Yes, I have to admit, likes are important to me!
Before I get labeled as being vain, let me quickly explain. Would it bother me if my friends think I’m vain? Hell yes!
For a start, having my posts liked tells me that it has been viewed by my friends and that they approve, and approval is important to me. It’s not very different to being a kid on the school playground, hoping to be the one of the lucky ones picket to be on the team.
Approval aside, likes also do make me feel popular and, let’s admit, who doesn’t want to be popular?
Beside popularity and approval, I also have a number of professional Facebook pages which I administer, being an author and a business owner.
There’s my Facebook author page Yusuf R Shaik author and my company page Control Room and AV Solutions and pages for the various books I have authored, and for these, likes are extremely important.
In the professional space, likes are tantamount to having page views, which in turn could translate to actual business.
Ok, back to my personal take on likes….
Does being famous on social media equate to being rich on Monopoly? I think not! I feel that posts and memes of this nature just go on to prove how important likes really are. I mean, would someone have made this if it didn’t bother them that someone else was more popular that them on Facebook?
Would I like my own posts?
A resounding and firm NO! I feel that liking my own posts is no different to self praise or blowing my own proverbial trumpet. That does not mean that I will go and hate on those who do or be all judgmental about it. Hey, I believe in each to their own.