Why You Shouldn't Worry About Likes

 As difficult as this may sound, the reality is that not everyone is going to like you or the things you post and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Humans are extremely diverse with varying interests and mood levels. All of these things we have zero control over, therefore, it would only sound right not to overthink the many things we see on social media if we aren't hitting the same number of likes we would usually receive on a post.

In the grand scheme of things, the number of likes you get is about equivalent to a bag of candy you purchase at your local gas station. You work hard to earn your money sacrificing your time and effort to purchase some candy you want and it feels great at the moment to treat yourself, however, that feeling doesn't last long and you eventually find yourself craving more of the candy. In a similar way, the number of likes we receive on anything provides the same dopamine rush. We see many people like our post so we are excited and rush to put out more posts. However, similar to how candy and money can run out or candy losing favor the number of likes can decrease. Here is the part people fear or constantly complain about. They think that the number of likes is equated to their sense of self worth. A reality like this is a sign of low self esteem.

I'm a victim to this as well. Sometimes, I would post on a consistent basis and most of my content would get little to no likes and I would feel like no one likes me but that's honestly the wrong mindset. If we take the number of likes on a post too seriously, it can give us false hopes of trying to make content that may one day please others. However, is that life really worth it? Working hard to please many people you sort of barely even know. I guarantee you that most followers on famous people's profiles don't even know the person on a personal level. This is the grey area of content creation. The belief that the number of likes actually is equivalent to how much people like or value us which is complete nonsense. 

Here is the hard truth: no one cares. Everyone is living their lives so when they see your post the chances of it affecting them should be the least of your worries. Your only worry should be what you're doing in your own life to push yourself forward. Create and share in silence or even create a separate account where you can post as much as you want. You may receive zero to no likes but hey everyone started from nothing. This is just a tip to reframe your dopamine circuitry so that you're not worried when that post you worked so hard on receives less feedback than you expected. 

Here's a positive thing to note though. Most of the posts you put out are actually cool and a good number of your followers actually do find them cool, but may not like your post just because they aren't someone to like posts or the person may be shy. Once again everyone is different. Never take the number of likes you get seriously. Just be happy to share your content. Just be happy you weren't afraid to put yourself out there. Life is too short to hold on to regrets or negative energy so don't let any nonsense like a quantity of likes or favorites get you down. You are amazing for sharing!