It is the world of social media and some people are obsessed with their feed being perfect and their likes increasing and since the sudden change came without any warning or pre notices, a lot of people went crazy as to why is it happening, but while some people could not accept the fact that Instagram has hidden the display of number of likes, a majority was actually glad about it claiming that social media and the number of likes on a picture has become such a trend now that people have gotten crazily obsessed with their pictures being perfect and posts being synchronized and it has produced a lot of mental health issues as whatever you see on the internet, the flawless skins and amazing lifestyle is not entirely true. It is what people decide to show you. You see the good parts, not the struggles hence people assume that their life is bad since it is not like those shown on the internet.
People who were affected by the new change could not see the number of likes on their posts. The like option which previously showed the numbers now displayed a sentence saying “Liked by (username) and others” and the change affected everyone among the followers of that user as they also saw the same sentence on that user’s pictures irrespective of the fact that some likes displayed on their feed came normal.
FYI we unintentionally launched our test to hide likes to more people today. Our apologies. https://t.co/3CPpSC7qQW
— Adam Mosseri 😷 (@mosseri) March 3, 2021
This has been fixed now 👇https://t.co/Dlf69TQTTH
— Instagram (@instagram) March 3, 2021
After a few hours, though Instagram did take it to their social medias explaining users what had happened. Well, Instagram has been testing some new features since a few months now and among those features was a testing of Instagram hiding the likes display from the feed of a few users. While a lot of people who were a part of the test could not see their number of likes for a few months now but Instagram on Tuesday accidently added a bunch of few more people under this test which explained by the company was because of a bug and was later restored. The user’s whose number of likes has been hidden though still can see who has liked their pictures by tapping on “more” shown on the likes display but the number will not be shown and their followers cannot see who has liked that picture by tapping on more as well that option is only accessible by the users.
This makes us think, that since Instagram has such a feature under testing conditions, this means there is a possibility that they are planning to remove the number of likes display from every Instagram user’s feed, and while some think this is good for people’s mental health the question is what will happen to the content creators and influencer community on the application, who’s source of income is dependent on the number of likes on their pictures? While some still feels the test has good implications too.
So Instagram has taken away the number of likes on posts which means the influencer career path is due to collapse within the week 😬
— mia🌻 (@dontmindmimi) March 3, 2021
ig baddies looking for a new source of validation after instagram got rid of likes pic.twitter.com/hbzBMjuRsf
— seoul train (@kimchi_mane) March 3, 2021
Ppl gettin mad about not seeing the number of likes they receive on ig bcuz they use that as some sort of validation currency shows is how deeply twisted and vain we are. Did Instagram reveal how we are reliant on social media for our sense of worth and self esteem? Yes it did.
— Mani Phantom (@Sleezies) March 3, 2021
Did Instagram do what was needed to end this toxic addiction to likes on photos......yes it did. pic.twitter.com/QLlKiQnHCf
— REINE NKECHI 🇳🇬💕 (@KayC_JOJO) March 3, 2021
so instagram got rid of likes and i think that was one of the most humanitarian moves they could have made. a world where kids grow up measuring their lives by likes never sat well with me.
— 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝. (@ImanEurope) March 3, 2021
I’m truly torn on whether I think hiding instagram likes will be healthy for me as an influencer (who typically has to “deliver” a certain amount of impressions for brand deals), I think I kind of feel more stressed?
— lauren (@laurDIY) March 3, 2021
Instagram getting rid of likes is actually kind of awesome. So many people are addicted to how many “likes” they can get instead of posting what truly makes them happy. I personally love it.
— 𝒟ℴ𝒸𝓉ℴ𝓇 𝒮𝓁ℯℯ𝓅 (@alyssamdicarlo) March 3, 2021
did instagram remove the option to see the number of likes under a photo??!? i love this, this is the kind of change we need on social media. NUMBERS AINT SHIT
— 𝒶𝓈𝒽 ✨🦋🌙 (@frckldghst) March 3, 2021
However, nothing is confirmed now and whatever the decision the Tech Giant will take will be with proper consideration and what will be beneficial for their social media community.
