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Andrew Paulino

Professor Brian Robertson

CST 300 Writing Lab

15 October 2021

The Ethical Dilemma of the Like Button

At a young age, many people are exposed to the nature of social media and it is used

dramatically. It has become an integral part of an active users’ lifestyle. When something has

become a consistent part of a person’s life, it may have an impact which could ultimately affect a

person’s behavior and/or mental health in short term or even long term settings. The use of social

media has become a strong influence on individuals and this influence is driven by the addictive

features in an mobile application or a platform that can enable one to see if people have seen or

liked content. The transactional nature and creation of social media features can have a positive

or negative impact on mental health in society.

Issue

In an ever changing culture of media and socialization, society has adapted to the many

nuances that promote the idea of being “promoted”. Sharing content created by posting pictures,

videos, and other types of media on the internet has become a common recreational activity for

most people to use as a creative outlet. Many people share their own lifestyle to be noticed by

friends and family or even to the general public. The use of these features creates a thirst for the

need for validation and acceptance which can be controversial. Using social media means using

the virtual transactional currency that comes with it, but it also comes with the unintended

consequences of anxiety, depression, the need for validation, and low self-esteem. The reward of

using social media is often unpredictable which in turn, makes users return back to the platform
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they were using for more rewards which can be the need to feel accepted and liked. The use of

social media is compulsive which has allowed society to achieve instant gratification on various

platforms. A social media user can continue to loop back to their social media accounts because

it is a quick and easy way to feed a possible borderline addiction. With this, it is incredibly

important to address the issue of mental health surrounding the use of social media as technology

advances.

The history of social media and its use of novel features first became apparent during the

2010s when social media giants like Facebook became increasingly popular. Eventually they

incorporated the “like” button along with the ability to leave comments on posts. The single

“like” button evolved into a more diverse feature where now there are the options to push the

“love”, “laugh”, “care”, “angry”, “sad”, or “wow” buttons. Other platforms started incorporating

different ways to interact with other users on the same platform by including direct messaging

and a flash of someone’s day or also known as Stories. (Pócs et al., 2021) The use of comments

and like features introduced an online reality where users would use these features but eventually

face anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem due to how their interactions go with others online.

Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholder 1: Mental Health Awareness

Values. Mental health plays a role when exposure to the wrong interactions on social

media are articulated. Social media has become an addictive mechanism for people to feed on

which has a negative impact on daily life.

Position. Over time, the use of social media can cause detrimental effects to one’s mental

health because of the emotional aspects and influence it can have. Among those who heavily use
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social media, many platforms of media ultimately have an association with anxiety, depression,

and feelings of isolation. (Hartman, 2019)

Claims. An unhealthy obsession may develop over time when logging onto an

application and seeing the reactions that one may have not received or expected to receive on a

post. This, in turn, may have an effect on a person’s self esteem if they were posting a photo or

video of themselves. Fashion trends and the need to fit in can also play a role in determining how

personal appearance can be affected as well. The need to promote one’s self on the internet but

not receiving the attention they seek can have a drastic effect on a person’s self esteem in the

long term as they are trying to seek validation from followers to feel accepted and trendy. To

achieve a certain number of likes and shares has become a common but subtle nuance that users

slowly face once engulfed in the world of social media. (Karim et al.,2020) Relying on the

validation of others and learning how others choose to accept other social media users can have a

huge influence on how people follow trends which can set up unrealistic standards for

themselves.

Outcome. It is seen that mental health will naturally encourage negative behavior. At the

adolescent stage, influences from social media and specific interactions are causing possible

higher chances of some individuals to be depressed and suicidal. (Weinstein, 2021)

Stakeholder 2: Social Media Empowerment

Values. The need for social media is important since it can bring a society together and

allow people to connect with one another. The use of certain features on social media platforms

helps to navigate through to others by sharing and liking specific posts.

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Position. Social media may have a positive impact on mental health because it can foster

empowerment and levels up interpersonal self-esteem. In addition, it allows for multiple peoples

to be connected through social and worldly events that are taking place. (Li, 2015)

Claims. By sharing content created on any platform, social media users are able to

enhance their creative outlet and in effect, most likely to receive support from their followers.

Those followers may share the same content and it can be easily shared and accessed through all

sorts of platforms. Oftentimes, a single video or picture may be accessible on different platforms

due to the nature of how people are able to share something they are interested in very quickly.

For the original content creator, the amount of likes and shares their content receives can be a

positive outcome because they might feel encouraged to post similar content and to be liked

increases their self-esteem. Many influencers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok use this

aspect of receiving attention on social media by being motivated to create more content that their

viewers might enjoy. (Li, 2015)

In politics, social media has an influence as well, where any changes in government can

be impacted just by the general public. With social media, it allows for people to have a voice

and by sharing and liking content, it enables others to see the political action or standpoint where

they can be positively influenced and have an opinion on their government. There can be the

possibility of mobilizing an online movement which can push for an effect offline. For example,

in 2009, a Guatemalan president was arrested for the murder of a prominent lawer. On social

media, action was taken which resulted in protests and the fight for justice to end violence.

(Harlow, 2011) Using features on social media as a means to promote the end for violence is one

way that it can have a major influence on society.

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Outcome. It is found through social media that there are cases of provoking social

change and freedom of expressing ideas and enabling people to be creative while using social

media as a medium for artwork.

Argument Question

Should social media platforms remove features like the “like” button to channel better

mental health?

Arguments

Stakeholder 1: Mental Health Awareness

The group that falls into the category of mental health awareness would take the position

of ethical egoism on the issue. It is important to note that social media platforms’ business thrive

on the financial income that users bring to the table when utilizing their platform. To keep users

on the platform of their choice and to entice them, including various features allows for users to

fall into the addictive use of social media which results in an unhealthy addiction. Social media

platforms are benefiting from the amount of users on their platforms so they are in essence being

motivated by their own self-interest.

Specific features on these platforms can also lead to unhealthy expectations of how others

can be perceived and the need to want to be trendy and fit in. Being incorporated into a digital

landscape that may not be entirely genuine, will negatively impact users and promote unrealistic

assumptions of how it may be to live or appear in a certain way. By removing specific features

such as the “like” button it can potentially increase a better and healthier perception of the user’s

perspective of platforms.
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Stakeholder 2: Social Media Empowerment

Utilitarianism is the ethical framework that social media empowerment falls under since

everyone benefits through the acts of social media. When large groups of people are using social

media as a means to share news and make a statement, they are enabling an environment where

the rightness of an act has much more benefit than harm to society. Utilizing the interactive

nature of social media platforms creates a safe space for anonymity since users can be more

discreet which promotes freedom of expression to go against opinions and ideas.

Individual empowerment comes from increased self-esteem and inclusivity. Social media

empowerment would push to keep and utilize the features of social media platforms because

users feel that they benefit and feel better about themselves when intersecting with others on

social media.

Student Position

Social media has and will always be an integral part of society now and in the distant

future. It is disappointing that the use of social media platforms and their respective features are

unregulated and continue to have a more negative impact on society. In due process and with

delegation in our communities, we should make strides to reduce negative features on platforms

that tend to promote social implications of an average human. Features such as the “like” and

“share” buttons promote an inherent value on an individual’s self-esteem and in correlation to

how mental health can be degraded. These features should be entirely excluded on various social

media platforms to promote better mental wellbeing. By looking out for our society and future

generations, we can eliminate such processes and promote inclusivity for all simply by removing

certain features from social media platforms.

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Summary

Social media has been a revolutionary change in society and there have been many

positive impactful movements that have greatly been beneficial in revolutionizing societal

change. Time after time, there is evidence concluding that social media has impacted our

personal lives which decreases mental health on an individualistic spectrum. With this, knowing

the effects of social media on mental health, we must be vigilant and cautious when

incorporating social media in our lives to be aware of our overall mental health.
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References

Harlow, S. (2012). Social media and social movements: Facebook and an online Guatemalan

justice movement that moved offline. New Media & Society, 14(2), 225–243.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444811410408

Hartman, M. (2019, June 22). Why Instagram's "like" button could be bad for mental health.

Marketplace. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from

https://www.marketplace.org/2019/06/21/instagram-like-button-bad-mental-health/.

Karim, F., Oyewande, A. A., Abdalla, L. F., Chaudhry Ehsanullah, R., & Khan, S. (2020).

Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review. Cureus,

12(6), e8627. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.8627

Li, Z. (2015, September 28). Psychological empowerment on social media: Who are the

empowered users? Public Relations Review. Retrieved October 16, 2021, from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0363811115001101.

Pócs, D., Adamovits, O., Watti, J., Kovács, R., & Kelemen, O. (2021, June 21). Facebook

users' interactions, organic reach, and engagement in a smoking cessation intervention:

Content analysis. Journal of medical Internet research. Retrieved October 16, 2021, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8277334/.

Weinstein, E., Kleiman, E. M., Franz, P. J., Joyce, V. W., Nash, C. C., Buonopane, R. J., &

Nock, M. K. (2021). Positive and negative uses of social media among adolescents

hospitalized for suicidal behavior. Journal of Adolescence, 87, 63-73.