Simplicity in Society

I have had many a thought about this, and today I wish to put my thoughts on to paper. I have discovered the addicting draw of facebook's ever popular 'Like' button. (And just a side note, it bothers me a lot that the word facebook isn't in my computer's dictionary.... oh, just fixed that one). For those of you less familiar with facebook, the 'Like' button is just a little button you can click in reference to any thing someone else has posted, a picture, a comment, a story, really anything that happens on facebook you can 'Like' it. Other options include making a comment, you could also write on someone's wall, or even send them a personal message. I believe that I have just ranked these actions based on the likelihood of being done, you only send a personal message if you feel it very important to convey specific information to certain people, a wall message is a social move that could engage a electronic conversation, then a comment is something that many people may reply to or make additional comments too, however the expectation for such is much lower. Finally the 'Like' button is something you can do, allowing a person to see that you have read thier post, seen thier pictures, and you enjoyed it however this leaves you with no social obligation to explain why you like it, to try to be funny, to try and begin a conversation... anything at all, it's extraordinarily non-committal. In fact, I would almost go as far as to say it is quite empty, a lower form of communication than even the 'high-five.'

I'm not saying I'm against 'Liking' things; no, no, I do it all the time, and I love it when people 'like' my stuff. Granted I am much more pleased to see actual comments and the occasional wall post for me, but all the same I believe the 'Like' button has found its useful niche in conveying vague interest but without the binding commitment of a conversation. I think that this point is somewhat proven by the fact of it's existence, and furthermore by it's seeming popularity of usage. I do however wonder if that is a good, bad, or even if it could be considered a societal trend at all. That trend would be the decreasing person relationships and drifting toward more empty, ambiguous, and noncommittal modes of communication.

I find it interesting that people I met in high school, but were never really friends with I can 'Like' things they do, and they to me, and yet our lack-of-an-actual-friendship continues, it amuses me.

here's some other ideas on the subject: Wall Street Journal and Elder Bednar