Welcome to the wild, wild West of the internet, where your values don’t just define you — they curate your content, dictate your captions, and decide if you’re going to heaven or just TikTok famous. Yes, today we’re diving into how your values affect what you share on social media, or more accurately, how they perform on your behalf while you scroll through thirst traps and conspiracy memes.
Let’s not pretend this is a new idea. Humans have always tried to look better than they actually are — we used to do it with overpriced cologne, now we do it with infographics about mental health and videos of us giving sandwiches to the homeless. Same self-congratulatory glow, now with filters.
Chapter 1: Your Values — Or Whatever Gets You Engagement
Let’s define “values” the way the internet does: things you’re morally outraged about for 36 hours, until the algorithm picks something shinier. Climate change? Worth a story post. Human rights? Share a reel. War? That deserves a carousel. But your grandma’s racist Thanksgiving comments? “Oh, well, she’s old.”
Your social media behavior isn’t just a reflection of your beliefs — it’s your resume for the unpaid job of being a morally decent person. You know how people used to go to church to feel virtuous? Now they go viral.
Chapter 2: The Sacred Trinity — Politics, Puppies, and Pancakes
Look at someone’s feed and you can tell exactly what they value. Here's the holy trinity:
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Politics: Are you Team Blue, Team Red, or Team “Both parties are the same, man”? Your values determine if you're posting “Free Palestine” or “I Stand With Israel,” or if you're just reposting George Carlin quotes to look enlightened while avoiding actual conviction.
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Puppies: Do you post shelter dogs with sad Sarah McLachlan music because you genuinely care, or because crying gets clicks? Spoiler: both can be true. You value compassion — but only if it’s cute and comes in 30-second vertical videos.
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Pancakes: If you post brunch, it means you value leisure, aesthetics, and probably mild economic privilege. Nothing says “I care about local businesses and self-care” like a $19 avocado toast with a mimosa you never finished.
Values are what guide your decision to share a photo of a protest one day and a smoothie bowl the next. If that feels like emotional whiplash, congratulations — you’re a fully digitized human being.
Chapter 3: The Virtue Economy — Likes Are the New Morality
Back in the olden days, we had the Ten Commandments. Now we have ten Canva slides explaining systemic oppression, posted between ads for skincare.
If you value equality, you post about BLM. If you value patriotism, you post a picture of your grandpa in Vietnam. If you value performative activism, you post both, strategically spaced out to maintain engagement across demographics.
The modern economy isn’t just about money. It’s about virtue capital — and baby, it’s tradeable.
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Posting about LGBTQ+ rights during Pride Month? You value inclusion — and corporate brand synergy.
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Going dark on Instagram to support a cause? You value solidarity — and conveniently taking a break from your usual thirst posts.
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Calling out someone else for being problematic? You value accountability — and possibly revenge from high school.
Chapter 4: The Algorithm Loves a Good Sermon
Ever notice how your most “woke” or “based” posts perform better than your vacation photos? That’s because algorithms are trained on outrage, identity, and conflict. Your values don’t just guide your content; they get gamified.
You’re not just sharing what you believe. You’re optimizing your ethics.
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The algorithm likes strong opinions.
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The algorithm likes clear villains.
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The algorithm likes it when you pick a side and tweet like you’re fighting the final boss of moral ambiguity.
And if your values are too nuanced? Good luck. The internet doesn’t reward complexity. It rewards who yells the loudest, cries the hardest, or crafts the snarkiest caption under a protest selfie.
Chapter 5: Cancel Culture and the Digital Purity Test
Let’s talk about how your values are policed online. Welcome to the digital purity Olympics, where you're always one retweet away from losing the moral high ground.
Social media turns values into a leaderboard:
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Said something problematic in 2012? Sorry, you failed the purity test. Doesn’t matter if you’ve changed.
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Didn’t post about the latest crisis within 24 hours? Clearly, you don’t care. You're canceled.
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Liked a tweet from someone who's problematic adjacent? You're basically a fascist now.
This happens because we confuse visibility with morality. The more you post, the more righteous you must be. And if you ever pause to actually reflect before posting?
Suspicious. Probably a fascist.
Chapter 6: The Emotional Playlist — How Your Feed Becomes Your Confessional
Your values don’t just shape what you post — they shape how you post.
If you value vulnerability, you share tear-streaked selfies and long captions about mental health. If you value stoicism, you post gym pics with captions like “No days off.” If you value spiritual awakening, you post cryptic quotes over sunrises and call it a download from the universe.
Your feed becomes a curated playlist of emotional branding:
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Grief = black-and-white photo dump + Maya Angelou quote
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Anger = tweet screenshot with red underline
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Joy = carousel of vacation photos + “so needed this!!!” in lowercase
Whatever the feeling, there’s a format for it. And if you stray from that? You’re violating the platform’s unwritten vibe code. Better delete before you get ghosted by the algorithm.
Chapter 7: Values by Demographic — The Millennial/Gen Z Guidebook
Let’s stereotype a bit, because we value generalizations.
Millennials: You value social justice, but also nostalgia. So your feed is equal parts “defund the police” and “remember Blockbuster?” You use Facebook to fight fascism and Instagram to post wedding photos captioned with Taylor Swift lyrics.
Gen Z: You value chaos, authenticity, and dismantling capitalism via cottagecore aesthetics. You call out billionaires, then post unboxing videos with affiliate links. You cry on TikTok, overshare on BeReal, and protest on Snapchat. You are the moment — but also five seconds from deleting your entire digital identity and becoming a mushroom farmer.
Chapter 8: The Great Filter — Who Gets To See Your Values?
You may think your values are universal, but you still post like you’re tiptoeing through a minefield of judgment. You curate who sees what — close friends only, stories only, burner account only.
You value honesty, but not with your boss.
You value feminism, but not enough to lose your uncle’s inheritance.
You value progressive politics, but your boyfriend’s mom follows you now so let’s tone it down.
Social media gives you an illusion of total expression, while quietly reinforcing the art of self-censorship. You can scream into the void — just make sure the right void is listening.
Chapter 9: The “That’s Not Who I Am” Defense
Eventually, someone will dig up a tweet, post, or old LiveJournal entry that contradicts your values. You’ll be dragged. You’ll issue an apology in Notes app format. You’ll say:
“That’s not who I am. That doesn’t reflect my values.”
But here’s the kicker: Yes, it does. Or it did. Or it was a version of you shaped by different values, back when it was still socially acceptable to wear racist Halloween costumes and quote “Family Guy” unironically.
Values evolve. But online, we pretend they’re set in stone — unless we get caught. Then suddenly they’re fluid, like your relationship status during Coachella.
Chapter 10: In Conclusion — Post Like No One’s Watching (But They Definitely Are)
Here’s the truth: Your values are all over your social media. They’re in your likes, your shares, your comment history, your choice to mute or block, your threads about mental health, and your refusal to delete that one problematic influencer because you like their workout videos.
You post what you value. You value what you post. And sometimes, you just value the dopamine hit of engagement.
So go ahead — share that infographic, write that caption, filter that sunset over your “we must do better” post. Just don’t pretend it’s all accidental. Your values aren’t just who you are.
They’re your brand.
And branding, sweetie, is forever.
Hashtag it, print it, hang it over your bed. Or don’t. Whatever aligns with your core values.