A [Facebook] Ramble

     When someone updates their status on Facebook, two things are most likely going to ensue: the status can be liked by a person’s friends or a friend can leave a comment.

     I seem to have a problem with the ‘like’ button. ‘Why in the world, PrettyNerd, does this matter?’ you might ask me. I’ll tell you why – it’s the difference between a shrimp and a whale, tolerance and appreciation… LIKE and flipping LOVE.

     Both show a positive emotion, of course. Both acknowledge what was said, but if further analyzed, this (seemingly trivial) post shows some of the real intentions behind the actions. Like I said – shrimp vs whale.

     A ‘like’ shows that one agrees with the emotion, idea, thought or belief that was posted. Aquaintances are most likely to ‘like.’ They don’t need to start a conversation or rekindle a lost friendship – they just say “yes. you have a point.” and move on to the next ‘friend.’ This kind of bugs me – it’s the impersonal side of facebook that I don’t want infiltrating the social network. They’re not engaging in a conversation with me – they are simply nodding at my words. That’s like twiddling your thumbs during a meeting at which you’re being lectured. The facebook status might be a short type of lecture, but if you just kind of nod, you’re not contributing to the meeting or discussion. This makes the facilitator (or status writer) sad.

     A comment goes way beyond a simple acknowledgment for me. Instead of just smiling at my statuses, the friends who comment my statuses seem to be going out of their way to contribute to the  ‘meeting’ going on on my facebook. A comment furthers the topic started and even opens the opportunity to make plans with a friend I haven’t seen in a while. When a friend ‘likes’ my status, where am I left to go? Am I to go to their wall and type “Thanks for liking my status! I’m so glad you agree with me!” — Sorry, but this would get tiring (and a tad annoying). Certainly, liking is great for showing that human beings actually agree with something or someone (especially when someone’s status is awesome enough to get 25+ people to like it).

     After a birthday party of mine (the first and last ‘big’ party i had during my high school years),  I learned that in the debate of quantity versus quality, the latter definitely wins. I had invited a lot of people, then realized my ‘real’ friends were those who helped me clean up afterwards – not just the ones who were drinking all the booze and riding out the buzz. I invited around 20 people… only 3 people helped me clean up. These 3 people ended up becoming my best friends (and the current commentors on my facebook statuses haha).  

Point is, while one might be loving their 30+ ‘likes’ – I’m enjoying my minimal comments (or even the 7+ coments that are only between 2 or 3 people). It might be silly, but I think the facebook friends I have that comment my statuses are my real friends.

Because if you think about it, writing a facebook status is like holding up a poster with your current thoughts written on them, walking down the street.  The friends that ‘comment,’ are the ones that stop and chat, showing their genuine care and concern. All these others (the ‘likers’) just kind of wave and walk by.

Let me ask you:

Which are the more genuine friends?