The Subtle Science of Liking (or social media marketing turns out to be ironic)

I decided to watch the PBS documentary “Generation Like” (which can be viewed here) and was rather surprised. Even though it was filmed a decade ago, it still feels very timely and cautionary. I wonder how an updated version, based on current social media statistics, would appear. Although the documentary mentions Instagram’s popularity, its influence along with TikTok and Facebook is worth further exploration. The rise of influencer culture, sponcon (sponsored content) posts, and multi-level marketing (or pyramid schemes) is both worrying and fascinating as well; “Generation Like” touches on how today’s young adults are learning to sell themselves through social media. At the same time, social media companies are using them to gain brand loyalty and sell their product (whatever it is) to the general public. “Generation Like” shows the recent (at time of release) marketing campaign of the Hunger Games films to drive this point home.

As a longtime fan of The Hunger Games series (the books, anyway – I have major qualms with the movies), I’m both stupefied and wary of social media’s role in the franchise’s promotion campaign. In Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, the capitalization and objectification of teenagers and children is criticized and treated as something undesirable; they are forced to perform for the audience (the Capitol) or the cameras during the Games or risk losing their lives and loved ones. In the movie marketing, people compete against others for points (or Sparks) and the title of the biggest Fan by retweeting, reposting and showing their interest for the films. While they aren’t in a fight for survival, in a sense they’re fighting for fame and getting the attention of celebrities (minor or major).

I couldn’t help but find this approach extremely ironic; in “Generation Like” fame through social media is encouraged and a goal people strive for. Marketing themselves is part of the process, and worth it for the notoriety and money. In the Hunger Games world, however, being famous comes with an extremely high price; sure, people may be given more food and other resources, but winning the Games also means constant scrutiny and playing by the Capitol’s rules. (And in one character’s case, they don’t own their body or have any freedom; they are property of the President.) In the end, the film’s protagonists eschew the chance for more time in the spotlight and go back home to live a quiet and independent life.

“Generation Like” also showed the perspective of a teenager, who became famous by posting skateboarding videos, and later viral ones where he harassed women. While the documentary glossed over this in favor of a more positive angle (kid in poverty trying to improve his family’s circumstances), I thought of the darker side of social media and what that means in 2024. As one person notes in the Vice article, this sort of behavior is framed as “cute” and funny when coming from a young boy. If he was older or wasn’t a social media star, people would treat this far differently. And maybe that’s the point; in the quest for social media attention (likes, followers, views, etc), individuals have to do something outrageous or outperform others. Those 15 minutes are extremely fleeting, so they have to take any opportunity to prolong their celebrity.

Image Credit: https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/complete-history-social-media

Image Credit: https://www.wordstream.com/social-media-marketing

Social media is here to stay, whether we like it or not. I don’t know how it will look like 10 or 20 years from now; but my hope is that people can wield it in a positive way, and show that it doesn’t have to determine our self-worth.