Well, fellow writers and artists, have you also noticed that people read and watch you, but begrudge you likes? And you, dear readers, have you also noticed that sometimes you like something online but don't feel like hitting the like button?
It would seem, why? After all, it's not hard to give a like. You'll laugh, but it turns out there is even scientific research on this. And here are the conclusions they reached.
So, why don't people like even what they like?
1. Information overload. Nobel laureate Herbert Simon warned back in 1971: when there is too much information, attention becomes scarce. A Stanford study (2024) showed that the brain perceives even a split-second decision to "like" as a loss of energy. In an endless feed, we save on everything, even a click.
2. Fear for one's reputation. Berlin neuroscientists (2023) found that a public like activates areas responsible for social identity. By giving a heart, we are not saying "this is good" but "this is me." If the work is complex, too personal, or ambiguous, the viewer may fear associating themselves with it. They like it, but they stay silent so as not to "spoil their profile."
3. The bystander effect. A University of Chicago study (2022) applied the classic syndrome to social media: if there are many people around, they easily pass by someone who needs help. Under a post with a hundred likes, everyone thinks, "Mine is no longer needed." And under an empty one: "What if I didn't understand something? I'll wait." In the end, the author gets silence.
4. Inflation. Psychologist Adam Alter compared likes to the money supply: platforms created an oversupply, leading to hyperinflation. People stopped trusting mass reactions. The like has devalued, but paradoxically, a devalued coin is doubly begrudged; even a click seems meaningless.
That's the situation, fellow creators and readers. In this picture, perhaps only one study is missing, one that would answer the question: why do all these shy people, who worry about what others might think of them, afraid to like an unpopular book, for example, not hesitate to like and repost trash content that certainly cannot benefit anyone's reputation? And all these tired souls saving energy even on likesβthey're the same... A mystery!
And a personal wish at the end: support those who do what you love. With a kind word, a bit of money, or at least a like. Without moral and material support, a creative person will eventually give up and stop creating. Because how long can you shout into the void?
Without positive reactions to creativity, recommendation algorithms will bury it, and no one will see it. And the result will be this: the average person will have to live in a world of trash content, where nothing else exists. Normal content will remain, but only paid, for connoisseurs.
Support what you would like to see more of in the world. Ignore what you would like to remove from the world. Your support, even a small like, matters more than you think.
#useful #creativity
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