“The need for belonging”: how and why social media likes control us

Analysts from the social network VKontakte analyzed user reactions over the past year and came to interesting conclusions. It turned out that the most popular days in terms of the number of likes were January 1, September 1 and March 8. And users leave the most reactions at 20 o’clock. The study reveals who, how and why content is liked in Russia. And at the same time we list the most “liked” people in the country. There were several unexpected names in the top.

Choose with your heart

Let’s start with the obvious: according to the study, the most liked age group in Russia remains young people (users 16–24 years old). This audience accounts for about a third of all reactions on the social network. True, older users are also not unfamiliar with approving reactions (11 percent).

As expected, 62.8 percent of likes left belong to women. A year earlier, they also responded to content more actively than men. Residents of Moscow (16.7 percent) and St. Petersburg (11.6 percent) are generous with their likes. Chelyabinsk residents closed the top three in this indicator (4.4 percent), ahead of Krasnodar residents (4.3 percent).

Russians most often appreciate humor in public spaces. This segment accounts for 328 million likes on average per month. The news (238 million), creative (218 million) and cultural (191 million) communities also receive excellent likes. Among the bloggers, the most “liked” were Dasha Doshik, Karina Cross and Dima Maslennikov.

Study RAS specialists from the Laboratory of Sociological Expertise recently conducted a similar topic. They surveyed 500 people over 18 years of age in 67 regions of the country. Respondents were asked an open-ended question: who do you consider the most recognizable, popular and most liked figure in Russia? The incumbent president took first place by a significant margin. 61 percent of respondents named him. For comparison, the second-place rapper Basta scored only 5 percent; the top three was completed by several celebrities: Shaman, Yegor Creed and Elon Musk.

The survey results are indirectly confirmed by other facts. On YouTube alone, Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson received 19 million views and nearly a million likes. In May 2019, during a study, sociologists from VTsIOM asked respondents an open-ended question about the politicians they trust. Then only 30.5 percent of respondents named Vladimir Putin. But even with the indicators at that time, the president had enough fans, which was noticeable by the number of likes and reposts.

March 3 this year FOM asked the Russians an already closed question: do you think President V. Putin is working in his post rather well or rather poorly? 80 percent voted for the first option, which logically correlates with the results of the study about the most “liked” people.

Harm or benefit?

The phenomenon of the popularity of likes is explained by the fact that a person needs support and approval in a virtual environment no less than in reality. MSU Professor Madrudin Magomed-Eminov notesthat likes have become the new conventional currency of the digital person (homo digitalis). They perform the most important tasks from the point of view of socialization, helping users express themselves, enter into dialogue, and express their opinions and attitudes. This does not require any special effort or time – just one click is enough.

“The need for recognition, love, belonging is one of the basic human needs, and a like is a virtual analogue of satisfying this need. Hence the “powerful” influence of likes on a person’s self-esteem and self-esteem. After all, the “I liked” button, in its essence, expresses praise, a compliment, a sign of respect and approval. For the user in his psychological space, this means that he was noticed, he matters, he occupies his niche in space,” adds Candidate of Psychological Sciences at SUSU Natalya Baturina.

The specialist notes that modern youth are not inclined to separate virtual and real lives. Likes on social networks for this part of users are no less valuable than “live” approval in reality. Moreover, the need for likes in itself is not so bad. When a person lacks real communication, support or confidence, being active on social networks can help. At the same time, likes play an important role – they positively influence on self-esteem.

Likes can become dangerous when a healthy need turns into a painful addiction. The number of likes is especially important for people who are acutely aware of the opinions of others. For such people, virtual space often completely replaces the real one, and receiving likes becomes the main outlet and support. It is impossible to achieve psychological well-being in this way: numerous accounts that show only the “front side of life” add uncertainty, anxiety and can lead to depression.

For “healthy” use of social networks, it is worth reminding yourself of two things at least from time to time. First, likes evaluate specific content, not a person’s personality. And secondly, on social networks we are dealing with a beautiful picture, not real life. Engaging in self-development (in reality) and evaluating even your small successes is more productive than comparing yourself with bloggers relaxing on paradise beaches.

Lastly about records

The post by Argentine football player Lionel Messi received the most likes in the history of the Internet. The forward published it on December 19, 2022 after defeating the French in the World Cup final in Qatar. The post now has over 75 million likes.

Before Messi, for a long time the record belonged to a photograph… of an ordinary chicken egg. The publication received 60 million likes.