London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

How to Make the Internet Less Depressing

How to Make the Internet Less Depressing

The like button ruined the internet. Social media and comment sections have trained us to channel our negative feelings into words, and our positive feelings into likes. So negativity is laid out in detail in the comments and replies, while positivity is compressed into a number. Scrolling through it all, or having it happen to something you post, is exhausting. The solution is simple.

Designer Frank Chimero blames this on social media lacking a dislike button. Of course, a dislike button would cause all kinds of trouble, as it does on Reddit, where “downvotes” bury valuable comments. So there’s only the option to like, or the option to explain that you dislike.

As I’ve written elsewhere, the internet needs a dislike button that doesn’t actually do anything. But as Chimero points out, you have a more immediate personal solution:

Whenever you hit “like,” leave a positive comment
Obvious in retrospect, right? Plenty of people already do this. You might, as I do, scoff at their inane commentary. You might even wish your older relatives would stop commenting “OMG cute!” on your Instagram, and just hit the heart. But those people are doing it right! They’re the ones who seem to actually enjoy the internet, because they spend their time being positive.

You can leave positive comments without being inane. Think about what you liked about the post, and say it. Ask your friend where they got that nice hat, or what they’re up to on vacation. Tell them how much their little life observation means to you. Or, you know, write something that directs your full intelligence toward expressing joy and appreciation.


It makes the original poster feel better


Even if you’re like me, a ghoul who gets annoyed at content-free replies from my loved ones, you still prefer that to actual negative replies. When you post something meaningful or funny, you want to witness people enjoying it. And a number next to a heart is not really going to deliver that. It’s like playing Super Mario for the points.

When someone compliments you, you feel good, you remember it, you might even tell a friend about the nice compliment you got. When someone tells you something nice (or something nasty), you might remember it for years. No one fondly remembers a like.

Next time you hit like, imagine what kind of reaction you’d give in person, and give it in writing. Give them real thoughts and feelings to absorb. Give them compliments—or empathy or agreement—in words that they’ll remember.


It makes you feel better


The more time you spend leaving these positive comments, the less time is left for the negative ones.

I have a terrible habit of joining angry mobs on Twitter. I see some hateful, bigoted tweet, and I just have to reply with a rebuttal or put-down. I try to only do this to people who really deserve to feel bad. But it doesn’t really make me feel good. Even when everyone’s having fun joining the pile-on, there’s a lingering taste of poison. And I’m not accomplishing anything. This behavior is so common that getting “ratioed” with more replies than likes has become shorthand for having a famously terrible tweet.

But this shit-river of negativity has triggered an opposite behavior, based on positive replies. On “Prompt Twitter,” someone asks an open-ended question and invites everyone to answer. The tweet gets ratioed with positive comments. Everyone loves to share their opinion, but this time they’re on the same side as the person who got them talking. Everyone’s spending their time on the positivity.


You start a real conversation


“A like can’t go anywhere,” says Chimero, “but a compliment can go a long way.” It can start a conversation, an actual back-and-forth, that breaks you out of the search-and-consume pattern.

Self-made experts on “unplugging” keep claiming that social media makes us lonely, but that’s only true if we only produce and consume and never interact. It’s the moms and aunts and grandpas who are doing it right, using Facebook to keep in touch and constantly chat with all their faraway friends and family. The fans replying to celebrity tweets. The YouTube commenters sharing personal stories under an old music video. The Lifehacker commenters telling me how good this post is.

You’re taking a pleasant or meaningful moment, expanding the space it takes up in your mind, and extending it into new moments. A small, mundane, banal choice that makes life better.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×