TORONTO — A new Twitter bot, “Congratulatron” aka @congratsbot, is pretty much outdoing us when it comes to praising people. The “Congratulations!” messages it fires off every minute to seemingly anyone celebrating something, while automated, are still more than the support we’re used to doling out on social media to our friends and family.
These days, that support often looks a little something like this: An old friend posts a photo of her baby after giving birth, you “like” it. Someone announces a promotion on Twitter, you “favourite” it. Done.
Because, why would you take the trouble to write “Congratulations!”? On Facebook, you’ll only be bombarded with notifications of others joining the chorus. Sure, you could write a private message. But that takes time and effort. Plus, it may lead to an actual conversation, and then you’ll have to wonder how and when to end the back and forth. Why put yourself through that when a nice and easy “like” or “favourite” will suffice?
Plus, your timeline is flooded every day with people’s “humble brags,” engagements, weddings, anniversaries, announcements, or updates on intense (and sometimes slightly scary) physical transformations. Are you supposed to write a heartfelt and supportive reply to all those posts?
Of course not. Who has that kind of time?
“Unfortunately, we’re all getting so busy, that sometimes the best you can hope for with people who are connected to you online is that they’re going to click that ‘like’ button.
And you just have to assume that means that they care,” said Sidneyeve Matrix, an associate professor and digital media expert at Queen’s University.
Behind the likes
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Authors of a recent UK study, though, caution that while people may like your posts online, they may secretly view them as cries of attention and judge you for them. The same scientists suggest that those who post about achievements, diets or exercise are more likely to be narcissists, while those who post photos of their partners are more likely to suffer from low self-esteem.
READ MORE: Here’s what your Facebook status says about you, according to UK scientists
Other research has found how powerful and addicting “likes” can be. Kristen Lindquist, a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, explained that we get a jolt of dopamine in our brains when someone likes our Facebook post or retweets us on Twitter. Over time, the effect on the reward centre of the brain “is similar to what makes drug addicts go back for another line of cocaine.”
Last year, a University of Queensland study also linked a lack of Facebook “likes” to a person’s level of loneliness and self-worth.
Breaking the habit
While seeking validation through social media isn’t necessarily a path you want to go down, it’s natural to want to feel seen, heard and cared about. And, as Matrix pointed out, maybe that’s what people are really looking for online anyway.
“Is social media the place for that real conversation? I think sometimes it’s not, and a ‘like’ will suffice.”
“If we find ourselves falling into this pattern of just relying on the likes instead of reaching out, then maybe we could pick up the phone, make a phone call or better yet,” she added, “plan an outing…get together and reconnect in real time.”
Back to the bot
Congratulatron creator Isaac Hepworth admitted that, originally, his “bot was kind of poking fun at the mindless ‘congrats!’ pile-on which can happen on Twitter” (and has become known as “Congrats Twitter“). But he found that it actually surfaced “a set of very human achievements and earnest congratulations.”
“Seeing people celebrate a new birth, an engagement, a graduation, even a follower count milestone — it’s much more uplifting than I imagined.”
https://twitter.com/RocBoy_M3/status/603959425653669890
A tweet has to receive at least five congratulatory replies before it’s deemed congrats-worthy by the bot. The tweet then gets favourited, so you can see which ones have made the cut.
Hepworth said the reaction has been much more positive than he imagined. The most unexpected thing for him, he wrote, “has been seeing the variety of things receiving congratulations on Twitter. If you were imagining an endless stream of navel-gazing ‘congrats Twitter’ then you’d be surprised.”
https://twitter.com/baldbae/status/606191082242600960
https://twitter.com/Lex_shanel/status/605868953655611392
With files from Carmen Chai, Global News
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