Is Removing The Number Of Likes On Instagram Going To Make A Difference?
By: Benny Lim
Tags: Addiction, Social Media, Mental Health Awareness, Instagram, Mental Health

The new update to Instagram is up and running and people are talking about it because of the biggest change that has been made to it.

So, what is that change?

It’s the one thing that most people on the platform craves for — likes.

Yep, Instagram has taken the bold step to get rid of the likes count. They haven’t gotten rid of the option to like a picture, that’s still very much there.

They have, however, got rid of the number of likes each post actually shows. Where it used to show the exact number of likes each post gets, it now just shows it in words.

For example, a post I had on my Instagram would have shown 146 likes. It now shows liked by ‘hundreds of others.’

No longer does it show the exact number and honestly, I think it’s good. However, it could also go either way in terms of consequences. It could be good or bad consequences, depending on how users take to the new changes.

Over the years, there were a lot of cases of depression, obsession, anxiety and other mental health issues that were linked to social media usage. One of them was Instagram and the effects the ‘like’ usage had on the users, especially the younger generation who really cares about popularity on the internet.

There were cases where you had teenagers who committed suicide just because their Instagram posts were not getting the number of likes that they were hoping for.

I’ve heard before that some people have an expectation that each of their posts will get at least a minimum of 500 likes. Anything less than that is considered a failure.

Now, some people may feel like it’s such a stupid thing to do. I do too.

But for others, it’s such a huge thing that it can lead to depression and anxiety when their Instagram posts or any other social media posts do not garner the number of likes that they desire.

That’s just how it is in today’s day and age.

I think that is also why Instagram has taken the step to remove the number of likes in the hope that it will make people to not be so fixated on the number of likes their posts receive.

But, it could still go either way. Even though you can’t see the exact number, it still has an indication of how many likes a post gets.

It’ll be in tens, hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions.

People who were so fixated on the numbers may now be fixated on making sure their posts hit likes into hundreds or thousands.

Or, it could really serve the purpose and people become less fixated on the number of likes their posts get and just focus on what Instagram really is for, to share their favorite pictures for their family, friends, and fans to see.

Nothing more, nothing less.

It’s still early days so we’ll just have to wait and see how the new change will really affect users and society as a whole. It’ll be interesting to see if the platform gains, maintains or loses its users.

I, for one, will continue using it as how I always have.

For someone who has never been too bothered by the number of likes my posts received, this change will not really affect me much.

But I’m hoping that whoever that is affected by it, is affected in a good, positive way. The way that I’m sure, Instagram intended the change to be.