Document Type
Article
Abstract
The nerviest part of my postcollege radio job was hitting the big yellow on-air button to start the broadcast for each day’s morning show. The feeling of pressing two fingers down on that button—ker-chunk!—came to mind after reading Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson’s Like, which is about the history, neuropsychology, and economics of the upraised thumb icon. Whereas punching the on-air button used to make my morning broadcast possible, clicking the like button has turned everybody into a sort of broadcaster. But have all those clicks changed the world, as Reeves and Goodson argue? Your answer depends, I think, on what you mean by “the world.”
Publication Date
4-7-2026
Recommended Citation
Mattson, Craig, "Thumbs up" (2026). University Faculty Publications and Creative Works. 1090.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/calvin_facultypubs/1090