Instagram is testing the waters to see if it will be better with or without likes. It will be less competitive and not a lot of pressure without having to worry about your likes. Instagram will still show the people that liked it but it is not going to tally up the numbers.
On Nov. 8 Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri made an announcement on WIRED25 that Instagram has tested in seven different countries without likes and now will be testing it in the US.
Instagram wants to get rid of the likes to make it a safe place on the internet. Likes will be hidden from the public view such as the feed, on the web and in profiles, but the account owner will still be able to see who likes it.
To some people, it’s always a competition on who gets the most likes on what picture. For Instagram influencers, it’s about getting paid based upon how many likes they can get on a post.
Some celebrities are not happy that Instagram is taking away their ‘likes’ to benefit their own company.
Nicki Minaj threatened that she would stop posting on Instagram if they took likes away. “I’m not posting on IG after this week cuz they removing the likes. Hmmmm what should I get into now? Think of all the time I’ll have in my new life,” Minaj tweeted.
Cardi B posted a video to Instagram with the caption saying “This is just my opinion…I mean what makes you feel more insecure getting no likes or people constantly giving you opinions about you, your life and topics? what you think IG should do ?”
Other celebrities do not mind that Instagram is taking away ‘likes’ because they think it will improve people’s mental health.
“As far as mental health, I mean it’s something that taking (Instagram’s) ‘likes’ away and taking that aspect away from it, would be
really beneficial for people,” pop culture influencer Kardashian West said. West also said that she was happy that Instagram executives reached out to her to get her thoughts on this matter.
“It creates a culture that isn’t helpful for well-being and isn’t fruitful for creative energy,” said actress Tracee Ellis Ross. Ross made this statement at a panel discussion with Mosseri that was facilitated by Wired.
“I think that it is better for Instagram to get rid of their likes so people can stop worrying about how many likes everybody is getting,” sophomore human resource management Riley Underwood said.
Some young adults do analytics and find the perfect time to post their pictures to get the most amount of likes. For example, if you posted your photo on a Thursday afternoon compared to a Sunday morning, you will not get as many likes due to low engagement.
“It feels like a lot of pressure when you do not get a certain amount of likes in a certain amount of hours. I think that Instagram getting rid of their likes will benefit people’s confidence and mental health,” sophomore marketing major Maddy Rooney said.
The total number of likes on the app will disappear from Instagram’s main feed, profile and permalink pages.
Mosseri is still not sure how many users in the United States will have their likes hidden, only some will have their likes disappear.
You are still able to like other people’s posts by double-tapping on the post or hitting the “heart” underneath the post. When you are liking somebody else’s post it will say the name of the Instagram account and others. You are still able to see who liked it but you will not see the number of people who liked the photo.
Instagram does not know if they are permanently getting rid of likes. They are first going to see how the test plays out in the US.
