A couple of days ago one of my favourite female actors from one of my favourite television shows, liked one of my posts to her. Her acknowledgement through a Twitter 'like' is easy to do but it really made my day. Earlier this year I had received another Twitter 'like' from another favourite female actor on the same television show and it had the same positive affect.
So I thought it would be interesting to analyse the usage of the Twitter 'like' button and the effects it can have on Twitter users.
So I thought it would be interesting to analyse the usage of the Twitter 'like' button and the effects it can have on Twitter users.
At the end of October, 2018 Twitter announced it was planning to remove the 'like' heart shaped button soon. The main reason for the removal given by the Twitter CEO was to engage their users in a more healthier debate. Or in other words to encourage it's users to engage with the platform more.
As a Twitter user it is difficult to know why I receive a Twitter 'like' as most of them come from random strangers and not my regular followers. I respond to a range of posts including those from celebrities, fans sites and news stories. The majority of my Twitter 'likes' come from news stories.
I use the 'like' button is used to show appreciation of other user's comments, photographs and videos. When I retweet and share on Twitter I also 'like' because I don't usually share anything I don't like.
I understand how the founder of Twitter doesn't like the 'like' button. The 'like' button is easy to press without contributing to a conversation and is used to end a conversation. The 'like' doesn't describe what the responding Twitter user thinks or feels about the content they are engaging with.
According to some psychologists many social media users across all platforms including Twitter crave endorsement for their posts and this is leading to social media addiction. There is also a trend among some social media users to delete their posts if they don't get enough 'likes'.
I have seen the Twitter 'like' button used in extremely negative ways. For example it can also be used to bully in particular when a more popular user disagrees with another user's comments as the Twitter 'like' button sends notifications to all those tagged in the post.
In 2015 Twitter changed it's 'favourites' button to a heart shaped button as a way of engaging and rewarding users that extended across cultures, languages and time zones. Twitter enabled users to express a range of emotions and easily connect with other users on a positive level as everyone in the world understood what a heart was.
It is nice when mostly strangers respond to something I write on Twitter. This encourages me to share my thoughts and feelings and engage in debate with others. Often no one responds to things I post but that is okay too.
I like to return this to strangers whose images, thoughts and comments I really like followed by a share and not just my favourite celebrities. Being able to do this across, cultures, languages and time zones is wonderful.
But no matter how many Twitter 'likes' a user gets on a post it doesn't replace real life interactions with family, friends and other important people in our life and the positive and negative feedback we get.
