Matters of the Heart: Can We Guess if it's Love or Like?!

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Is 'love' a synonym for 'like' ?!
I am amused at the heart shaped presumably ‘like’ icon of Twitter and Instagram. There is no other option available but to click the heart icon if you’ve liked a post. Facebook and YouTube, on the other hand, offer a range of icons to choose from. Their ‘like’ icon is the muted thumbs up symbol and a separate heart shaped icon for ‘love’ (to convey elevated likeness) besides a choice of other icons for separate emotions. ‘Love’ becoming a synonym for ‘like’ must have happened while generation Z was transitioning from FB to Insta. As a consequence, everyone is ‘hearting’ their likeness and turning the world into a confused mushy muddle.

‘Love you’ and ‘love you too’ are now too often used in conversation. In online social-media communication, the lovey-dovey emojis are disproportionately popular. Heart-escaping-the-lips and another one with love-hearts-pasted-all-over-the-face are the favorites for conveying heartfelt feelings. Equally popular are heart ripples, vibrating hearts, serenading hearts and hearts-bursting-out-of-the-eye-sockets to convey thrilling feelings. Viola! the virtual world seems the prefect Elysian world of overflowing love.


‘Love’ is defined as an extreme affection towards someone or something. The word ‘love’ has more weight and significance than the word ‘like’. Not long ago, ‘I love you’s’ were carefully thought out. They were only said when they were really meant. But over the years, the word love has been so overused, that it has become underrated. It has lost its value and meaning. 


'I love you' means 'I like you' far too often. You love your parents, you love your siblings and friends, and you love your dog and cat, but do you don’t always love someone’s post when you just plain like it. In the real world, due to overuse, when ‘I love you’ is said, its shrugged off as if it does not matter. The word ‘love’ is being used at the wrong time and in the wrong context.

Romantically involved couples post pictures on Instagram and Twitter with captions saying, “Happy One Month Babyyy, I love you so much” and then break up one week later. A classic example of premature use of the word ‘love’!

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However, "love" should definitely matter. It makes the world a better place to live. Love keeps families together and the world running. Love helps relationships survive through the good times and the bad. With millions of hearts sent across the globe everyday on social media, hopefully, the love smitten world won’t see any wars in the future. Or, perhaps its time for English language to invent a word that is stronger than ‘like’ and weaker than ‘love’ to take care of the present confusions.

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