Wired reported earlier today that starting next week Instagram will be getting rid of the likes counters for viewers. So you can see how many people liked your post but others can't. Some think this is dumb or unnecessary but others think this will provide a space for people to now post without how many likes the photo might get being a factor in their decision to post.
This also brings up the question of influencers who get paid to post ads and reviews based on how many likes they receive on their posts. Instagram first tested viewing no likes this past summer in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Italy and Brazil. People said they weren't now obsessing over how many likes a post got and felt they could post more freely.
Instagrams CEO said that " It's the latest step in Instagram’s quest to become the safest place on the internet". Instagram is supposed to be place to share create and connect and I definitely support this decision to delete the number of likes viewed. I know some people who would often remove posts because a photo didn't get enough likes. Due to Instagrams new algorithm especially people are focused on the number of likes they are getting on photos more than ever.
I found this very interesting because during the height of the influencer and brands relying on social media such as Instagram to market their products how will this change the way we continue to market on social media.
Hope this discussion of Instagram and the impact of likes was helpful or interesting.
Thanks for reading!
