When a political party wins an election the first assumption is that those who gained votes compared to the last elections did everything right. And if those who gained the votes did it using something that seems to be a populistic manner, another easy assumption will appear. This time the assumption will be that they received votes from people who don’t understand the situation they are in and don’t pay attention to the risk they take with their vote.

In essence, the belief is that it is sufficient to please the masses and that the measurement is the number of votes one receives. If there is a resemblance between votes and likes, it’s not by chance.

However, what’s not visible is what mood the person was in when clicking on the like button, what it is that led to the like, what hope that person has, or what message the person wants to share.

Likes, like votes, give unconditional recognition. There is no subtone, there is no condition to it. The only visible thing is a “yes”.

For the person receiving such unconditional recognition, the easy assumption then is: “They like me.” And if the vote or like isn’t coming, their conclusion is: “They don’t like me.”

It’s easier than to assess what it is that they did, that impacted the other enough to cast a vote or press the like.

But other people are just as complex as we are.