NO MORE INSTAGRAM LIKES?

The social media world was taken by surprise after news emerged that the social media platform Instagram will begin to hide public like counts on all post.  

Hidden likes on Instagram is nothing new to countries such as Canada, Japan, Brazil and Italy but in the United States, it seems to be a big deal for many. As news spread that Instagram would be hiding likes, many individuals who are faithful users of the app were upset or felt like not being able to see who liked what would challenge their social media power. However, the new update isn’t as bad as people may think. 

 Adam Mosseri, the chief executive officer of Instagram, had decided to expand the hidden likes, which is actually only a test, to the United States in order to “depressurize Instagram”. While the soon to be update won’t entirely remove the competitive aspect of the app, it will surely take it back, putting less emphasis on the idea that you have to receive many likes in order to have good content.   

Mosseri wants users to focus less on how many people are on your feed and more on the on your feed along with the conversations and connections made with them. With less pressure to create content for the purpose of receiving many likes, the content that people put out for the world to see has more of a chance to be authentic.   

People expect the new changes to negatively effect their growth and expansion on Instagram. However, even with the changes, active users will still be able to comment and like others and their own posts, but only the person who has created the content can see the amount of likes their post has received.  

So no, Instagram likes will not be hidden all together, which is what most people assumed at firs. Users will still have the ability to view who liked what and how many people like it, just with a few simple steps. 

“You can see who liked a photo of a video, you can tap through to see the list, and if you have the time, you can add them up,” said Mark Zuckerburg, Chief Executive of Facebook. 

The new changes that many U.S. Instagram users will shortly be apart of is actually more beneficial than many first assumed. For many, it will put a lot less pressure to post just for the sake of how many likes that the person receives. It could also possibly improve the mental health of users because they won’t be as focused on the amount of likes that they or other people receive.