Y Care 'Likes'
By Teresa Lei

Nowadays, people love to share their daily life with friends through social networks, especially young people from generation Y. Posting to get "likes" has became a habit for many in the Y generation.

To share their daily life, they tell their feelings or what they have just come across by updating their Facebook status. Besides, uploading photos to Facebook, Instagram, Weibo or other social platforms so that their friends could see what has been practiced routinely.

The "like" button on Facebook was introduced on February 9, 2009. Since then, Facebook users can "like" their friends' statuses, photos, comments and their shared links. People could show their appreciations by just tapping the "like" button on Facebook and Weibo, or by double-tapping the photos on Instagram. Some people have questioned whether the "like" function makes it easier for people to show what they like or makes them lazier in expressing their appreciation.

People become excited when they receive "likes" for their status or photos. Vincci Cheuk, a Hong Kong writer has got a lot of "haters" online. However, ever since she posted a sexy self-picture without make-up on Facebook, many of her "haters" became her "likers" overnight; she received over 10,000 likes for that photo. To her surprise, she did not expect to receive such a response. Later on, she published a book titled "Commercial Smile" in which she discussed her experience with the "like" phenomenon. She wrote that when people get 50 "likes", they probably want 100, and then more and more.

In June 2013, Hong Kong artist Plastic Thing opened a Facebook page which used ironic drawings to show the "post for likes" culture, especially for girls who are trying to build a "goddess" image for themselves in order to get "likes". She summarized a list of things girls would do to have beautiful self pictures; which include wearing exaggerating colored contact lens which would make their eyes look bigger, putting on trendy Korean-style make-up, wearing sexy clothes, etc. To this day, the Plastic Thing page has gotten over 120,000 fans, indicating that many people agree with her points. Ironically she has collected a great deal of "likes" in the process. 

Besides getting support or compliments, people may also get the feeling of superiority from the amount of "likes" they get. They feel like they are being praised. Therefore, they keep on posting new photos.

Some people take photos of their food every day, some girls take sexy photos with heavy make-up, some boys take photos of their new cars, shoes or trendy clothes and so on. All of them are very likely aimed at collecting "likes" from their friends. Others may think it ridiculous that people make so much effort to soliciting "likes".  They first have to order the food and take several photos; then they use 10 minutes to choose the best photo, adding filters or other effects on it, and spend another five minutes to compose a caption for the photo, and then finally upload the photo. Those people may really enjoy the labor despite the fact that their food may turn cold. On the other hand, there are some people who care so much about the number of "likes" that they even go to the extreme extent of purchasing "likes" online.

Everyone is free to do whatever they like as long as they don't affect others negatively. Some people become extreme but others not. Not everyone who updates status or photos online is "like-addicted". Everyone has the right to do so and others at least should show respect. However, to give or to count "likes" or not? That is a personal choice.