This Week’s “SNL” Sees Through Your Ulterior Motives on Instagram

It might make you think twice before you press the "like" button

"SNL" game show sketch
A new game show explores contestants' social media habits on "SNL."
NBCUniversal

What inspires someone to like an Instagram post? There are countless reasons for it, some with the best of intentions and some with more than a few ulterior motives. The latter formed the premise of a new sketch on this week’s Saturday Night Live set on a fictional game show called Why’d You Like It?

Part of the joke is that none of the three contestants — played by Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Redd and Chloe Fineman — know what the premise of the show is going in. Kenan Thompson’s host, however, is more than willing to let them know — and ask some questions about very specific “likes” on social media that boil down to, well, responding to third posts.

The sketch builds nicely, with a host of cringe-inducing moments for the contestants — and, more than likely, no small amount of viewers watching at home. Gyllenhaal has an especially good grasp on how to make nervous energy funny, and the dynamic between Thompson and each of the three contestants was distinctive.

All told, the sketch was a good reminder of why the game show format tends to work well for SNL — in this case, it gave several cast members a lot to do, and allowed the episode’s guest host to show off his comedic chops as well. And if it makes you adjust your behavior on social media ever so slightly, it may well have been responsible for making the internet a better place.

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