Before leaving Facebook, I ran a little social experiment. I wanted to determine how many people were actually paying attention.
My posts began triumphantly. “I'm so proud to have finally made a dream come true.” The last sentence would likewise contain subtle gloating. Only the sentences in the middle gave it away. “There is no dream. Nothing came true. I just want to know who's reading this.” I included a photo of myself smiling, surrounded by friends, for good measure.
I received a surprising number of likes. Some people congratulated me. Another dirty little secret of social media: many people aren't actually paying attention.
We change what we write based on what garners likes. We change who we are based on what garners likes. What are those likes really worth? Not much, apparently.