September 6, 2019

Are You Liked? Sure. But Are You Well Liked?

He likes me, he really likes me.Chris Szagola/CSM via ZUMA

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This looked like good news in the Wall Street Journal today:

This seemed promising. Maybe I’m really more popular than I think. Anyway, it turns out that some researchers studied college freshmen for a year:

They found that participants systematically underestimated how much they were liked. In fact, it wasn’t until May, after living together for eight months, that people accurately perceived how much they were liked. So try to focus your social energy on spending quality time with friends and don’t worry too much about the outcome.

Well shit. Everybody I know has known me for a lot longer than eight months, so I guess my perceptions are pretty accurate after all. I would place myself squarely in the “tolerated” category, along with “but his wife is nice so we should invite them over.” I guess it could be worse.

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4 DAYS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just 4 days left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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