Social Media is constantly changing. They are always adding new features, and tweaking guidelines. Are you ready for another change? It’s official, Instagram is set to hide likes. These changes coming to Instagram may have a huge impact on how we view content and what we post. The change means that the person who posts can see how many likes their post gets, but everyone else can not. Instagram describes this as “Testing a Change to How You See Likes. We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shared the post will see the total number of likes it gets”.
How and What We Post on Instagram
How important are Instagram likes to you? Do you want Instagram to hide likes? It seems that the number of likes, follows, and comments directly influence how and what we choose to post. As we sit and watch the likes roll in, we wonder what made this post special to our followers.
How will your posts change if Instagram adjusts how you see likes? Do you like change?
Instagram is making efforts to change how others see your content. The change will result in a healthier social media platform. Social media was designed to connect you to others but the introduction of the “like” creates more distance. The “like” causes creators to compare their work to others, and in many instances, they begin to undervalue their own creativity. Instagram as a whole shows a perfect image of a brand or individual. An image that is an ideal and desirable distorting reality for the sake of likes.
Impact on Businesses, Brands, and Influencers
This could have a major impact on businesses, brands, and influencers. There will no longer be a “Wow” factor when comparing one brand to another. Outside of hiding like counts, Instagram will investigate abuse and cyberbullying reports, instantly shutting accounts down. The user experience is expected to drastically change. Many people are happy about this change as it will allow people to be creative and not worry about others when it comes to their individuality.
Director of Policy for Facebook Australia and New Zealand, Mia Garlick, says the change was made with the intention of freedom. He believes that it allows people to focus “less on likes and more on telling their story”. Essentially Instagram was created to be a place for people to share and be vulnerable and it has become a source of validation based upon “likes”.
The users that Instagram is trying to protect are the everyday people who compare themselves to the like counts on other posts. Through this change, the self-esteem of the average user is expected to increase. Steadily Instagram will become a healthier form of social media.
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