Interesting fact: As of this writing there are 900M Facebook users. There are 2.7B likes daily. Let's say that every Facebook user is logged daily. That's 3 likes per person per day. The Facebook planet is a planet of affirmation experts. Incidentally, by contrast, the typical denizen of the Twittersphere only tweets once every three days.
I am a frequent user of both and so my critique here is not a critique of the companies nor their offerings, but they make a great foil for asking the question about the value of affirmation. Raj Verma (Chief Marketing Officer of Tibco Software) recently said, "Word of mouse is now greater than word of mouth." Our online-ness is an artifact of our time, but there are many other places where we have replaced truth with affirmation. Consider these:
And if it is not true, is it helpful?
Consider this: with 2.7B likes a day, there's have a chance you have been liked... at least once. But when you post a picture on Facebook and 5 people like it, are they saying you're a good photographer? Are they saying the like the people in the picture? Do they just like you? I worry that we're raising up a generation of people who think they're wedding photographers because every picture they've posted has been liked by someone. Just as currency is devalued when there is too much in circulation, I think we've devalued like without anyone realizing that is now worth less than before.
I don't want to be the grumpy old guy. But can we move beyond like to words that are more helpful? Can we move from empty encouragement to caring critique and carefully selected applause?
I am a frequent user of both and so my critique here is not a critique of the companies nor their offerings, but they make a great foil for asking the question about the value of affirmation. Raj Verma (Chief Marketing Officer of Tibco Software) recently said, "Word of mouse is now greater than word of mouth." Our online-ness is an artifact of our time, but there are many other places where we have replaced truth with affirmation. Consider these:
- Bumper sticker: All children are gifted, but some open their gifts later than others
- Grandma's aphorism: When you grow up, you can be anyone you want to be
- Pop psychology: If we give kids good self-esteem, they'll overcome their challenges
- USA: The land of (equal) opportunity
You can probably add your own to the list.
But is any of it true?
- I cannot be an astronaut nor an NBA player... does it help for you to tell me that was possible if only I had prepared myself?
- I can probably learn to feel good about my sin, but that does not make it less sinful.
- And actually, though I have a good education and I'm smart and I work hard, I have not had the same opportunity as Mark Zuckerberg nor the guy who delivers my mail.
And if it is not true, is it helpful?
Consider this: with 2.7B likes a day, there's have a chance you have been liked... at least once. But when you post a picture on Facebook and 5 people like it, are they saying you're a good photographer? Are they saying the like the people in the picture? Do they just like you? I worry that we're raising up a generation of people who think they're wedding photographers because every picture they've posted has been liked by someone. Just as currency is devalued when there is too much in circulation, I think we've devalued like without anyone realizing that is now worth less than before.
I don't want to be the grumpy old guy. But can we move beyond like to words that are more helpful? Can we move from empty encouragement to caring critique and carefully selected applause?
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