I recently looked at a status update from Facebook breaking the news of a death of a well-known cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. There were thousands of ‘likes’. What do all those mean?
      If there’s one thing on Facebook that annoys me the most, it’s the ‘like’ button. No one knows how to use it. It seems simple at first glance, but almost every user interprets the use of the button differently. The ‘like’ button can make a Facebook user seem interested in what their friends like, or seem totally insensitive. If you follow TV organizations such as News or the Weather Channel, you’ve probably noticed that people ‘like’ some really weird things.  I recently looked at a status update from Facebook breaking the news of a death of a well-known cricketer Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. There were thousands of ‘likes’. What do all those mean? Do those people like that the cricketer died? Do they like his long career and really respected him? Do they like that Facebook broke the news. I once noticed that the Facebook, News Channel was updating its status regularly about Tsunami in Japan. In a status update about a Tsunami forming, there were hundreds of ‘likes’. Do those people like Tsunami? Do they like the fact the News Channel keep them up-to-date?  All those ‘likes’ could mean hundreds of different things. And what about those status updates from your friends?  If your friend says, “My Boss is so boring,” do you click ‘like’ if you also have a Boss you don’t quite enjoy? Do you click ‘like’ if you’ve dealt with similar Bosses? Will your friend think you like the fact they’re dealing with that boring Boss?. Last year in 2010 my friend updates states on Facebook as “Six martyred in Tangmarg”, I liked the status in sense I got news so that I know what is happening in my nation. As soon as I like my friend’s status he immediately rang me saying straight away “Oye American you are par-Atlantic how did you know what is happening here in Kashmir”. With all these weird ‘likes’, there needs to be some sort of Facebook-‘like’-button etiquette. Here are some rules. Never ‘like’ a bad status. If your friend’s status update says, “I just tripped in front of huge traffic jam,” don’t click ‘like’, even if you think it’s funny. Your like will be interpreted a million different ways. If your friend’s status update says, “OMG…I just bombed my first exam,” don’t click ‘like’, even if you just bombed an exam. Never like a sad status. If you see a status update that says, “Oh, I really miss my grandmother, she’s been gone for two years,” please don’t click ‘like’. You probably want to show your Facebook friend you know the feeling or the experience, but that isn’t the way to do it. I’ve actually seen people click ‘like’ on status similar to that several times. Call or send a message to your friend (if you actually know or are even close to the person) with that sad status update. Okay, here’s the big one: only ‘like’ status updates that you actually like.  If your friend’s status update says, “I aced my biology exam,” you can click ‘like’ on this one. If your friend’s status update says, “Oh… the Dal Lake looks awesome today,” you should click ‘like’. Stop clicking ‘like’ so much and maybe write a comment on that status update.  No one can misinterpret your comment. If you say, “Oh yeah man, my physical chemistry teacher is killing me too! Everything he says passes right over my head,” we get it. If you say, “Dude…I just bombed the same exam, we need to get together and study or something,” then you’re understood. And remember, only click ‘like’ if you like something!. Always be care by clicking ‘Like’, it is always a Facebook Frenzy.

(Mudasir Tantry is a Kashmiri based Postdoctoral Chemistry at University of Mississippi, USA and can be mailed at mudaek@yahoo.co.in)

Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:30:00 GMT
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