I am not talking about the 'likes' on the Facebook wall; where you can like someone's philosophic status update or like someone's vacation pictures or even like some new link some one has shared on his wall about a boutique in Bangalore or an online furniture company.
'Like' on Facebook is an easy way of showing your friendship, your support to some cause or agreement with some point of view without making an effort to call or show up physically or even spend a lot of time.
I am not talking about that 'like'.
My question is, does social media help us really like people more?
Let me take an example to explain my point.
Suppose you meet someone under circumstances where you do not meet as friends but as two people with their own agenda and points to prove which may not be in synch with each other.
For example, what if you are battling with weight loss and you meet this really strict gym instructor who seems to be an epitome of fitness and healthy cooking that you so abhor?
Or what if a new person joins your office and you both end up vying for the same project? He is not only great at his work, but also seems to be great at building relationships and quickly becomes Mr Popular with not just the boss but also the team.
Or suppose you drop off your child at the bus stop, hurriedly brushing her hair at the last minute and checking if her socks match and you meet another mother, not a hair out of her place, with her child perfectly groomed and always on time.
Would you like these people at first? Probably not.
But what if you find out more about these people, not by what they say and do in person but by their social presence?
What if you discover through Facebook that your gym trainer was once grossly overweight but lost his weight and found a new way of life with the gym which he now tries to teach other people?
What if you find that the 'perfect' mother has a blog where she writes funny articles about her 'not so perfect' motherhood moments?
What if you realize through LinkedIn that your new colleague is actually a talented singer and has performed in a rock band, just like you did?
Would you treat them differently after knowing these 'social' traits of these new people in your lives?
Would you be more open and less judgemental about them?
So I ask again, does social media help us 'like' people more?
And at the end of the day, would you have 3 new friends because of social media?
'Like' on Facebook is an easy way of showing your friendship, your support to some cause or agreement with some point of view without making an effort to call or show up physically or even spend a lot of time.
I am not talking about that 'like'.
My question is, does social media help us really like people more?
Let me take an example to explain my point.
Suppose you meet someone under circumstances where you do not meet as friends but as two people with their own agenda and points to prove which may not be in synch with each other.
For example, what if you are battling with weight loss and you meet this really strict gym instructor who seems to be an epitome of fitness and healthy cooking that you so abhor?
Or what if a new person joins your office and you both end up vying for the same project? He is not only great at his work, but also seems to be great at building relationships and quickly becomes Mr Popular with not just the boss but also the team.
Or suppose you drop off your child at the bus stop, hurriedly brushing her hair at the last minute and checking if her socks match and you meet another mother, not a hair out of her place, with her child perfectly groomed and always on time.
Would you like these people at first? Probably not.
But what if you find out more about these people, not by what they say and do in person but by their social presence?
What if you discover through Facebook that your gym trainer was once grossly overweight but lost his weight and found a new way of life with the gym which he now tries to teach other people?
What if you find that the 'perfect' mother has a blog where she writes funny articles about her 'not so perfect' motherhood moments?
What if you realize through LinkedIn that your new colleague is actually a talented singer and has performed in a rock band, just like you did?
Would you treat them differently after knowing these 'social' traits of these new people in your lives?
Would you be more open and less judgemental about them?
So I ask again, does social media help us 'like' people more?
And at the end of the day, would you have 3 new friends because of social media?
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