Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

There is perhaps no more iconic symbol of modern social life today than the thumbs up symbol used on numerous media platforms. With merely a tap of these buttons, we declare to the world what we like or dislike, or of what things we approve or disapprove.

So embedded is public approval in our culture that getting the most likes, the most views, or the most followers has become its own phenomenon. Taken to the extreme, we end up with absurdities such as the Kiki (“InMyFeelings”) Challenge where people jump out of moving vehicles to dance while on video – all for the approval of a virtual audience.

Here in America, public opinion is a beast like none other in modern American life that has both lifted up unlikely heroes as well as taken down the powerful. The mood of the masses has at times even trumped the order of…