While still in the trial phase, Instagram likes are quickly becoming a thing of the past with Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, Japan, Italy and most recently the United States all going like-free. But what does this mean for social media users?
Instagram is a platform that has traditionally traded in likes. As the be-all and end-all, likes have previously been used as currency and were the make or break of an Instagram profile’s success. That is a lot of pressure on a statistic that doesn’t do much more than boost egos or tear them down.
Why is Instagram hiding likes?
Moving further away from the competitiveness and demanding nature that was evolving on the platform, Instagram is heading back to its roots, putting the focus on creativity, spontaneity and storytelling. Sharing will become less about posting to get likes, and likes will be given only to deserving posts rather than liking behaviour based on who has already liked and the number of likes already existing on a posted image or video.
As Instagram states in its app notification for users who are part of the trial, “We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get.”
This step is also a means of combating mental health issues stemming from the platform. There has been a lot of talk about the ways in which social media is bad for us and they all seem to come to the same conclusion: they negatively impact our mental health. Bringing on feelings of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, loneliness and isolation in many users. This is particularly worrisome for the young users on the platform.
Hiding likes is a step being taken by Instagram (and Facebook) to improve the quality and safety of people’s time on their platforms. While this is important for younger users of social media, it is also a move that will aim to protect influencers on the platform who are subjected to judgement by a huge quantity of people every day.
