So, today is my little brother's birthday. So like any good sister, I decided to make an Instagram post, with a cute picture of us and a sentimental, tear-jerking caption, celebrating his birth. Right away, my phone blew up with likes. Likes from people I go to school with but have never talked to, likes from my friends, and even likes from people I don't even know. (I don't even know how those strangers found me, but I'm not complaining!)
I got to wondering, as I was walking into my Poli Sci class, was there a universal rule, that when an Instagram post is about a birthday, you can't just ignore it and keep swiping up? And why is it that on Instagram, or even Facebook your most liked pictures are the ones that deal with a birthday?
Whether it's yours or someone else's, those posts are usually the most liked. I know it makes me happy when I look at a post that I'm tagged in on my birthday and people are liking and commenting on it, so I'm sure other people can agree with that too. So I did some research, (Okay, so I asked my three roommates, but it's still research!), and they all agreed that every time there's a birthday shoutout on their feed, whether they know the person or not, they like their picture.. They also checked their phones to see if a birthday post is one of their most popular posts and lo and behold, they were. Why is that? Why do people feel as if they need to like a picture that's celebrating someone's birth? Is it because it seems like the right thing to do? I'm not really sure. I know that for me, even if I'm not the closest friend to someone, I will automatically like it. I guess it's mainly to make them feel happy. Everyone should be happy on their birthday and if I can somehow contribute to that happiness, even with a simple Instagram post or like, then I feel as if my job is done. My little brother, seeing my post for him and all those comments wishing him a happy birthday, made his day. His day didn't start as great as he had wanted, but seeing how many people cared about him through a simple act on Instagram, instantly brought his spirits higher.
So, the next time you see a post about a birthday, make sure you like it, make someone's birthday even a little bit more joyful. Who knows, soon it'll be for you, on your birthday.
