why on #Mastodon and #fediverse in general posts are more often boosted than liked (or favorited)?
If you boost something then people (like your follower) see the boosted post. If you like a post only the poster sees it. Ok, we here with other software then Mastodon can also look who has boosted or liked something and we can also use custom reactions, which is more then the star (this features maybe come when Meta buys Mastodon ;-) ). Same as quotes.
But booth, boosts and likes bring another problem. If you boost something, does it mean you agree, is it your opinion or you just want to let people know about it (thats why quotes exists). Same with a like, does it mean, ok I noticed it, yes I agree ... or just think someone shares a bad happening or experience. Does a like then mean, that you find it good ... for that are custom reactions made where you can use emojis to express your feelings or opinions. But sadly, the lead developer of Mastodon denies to implement this things.