Instagram is experimenting with removing public “like” counts in an effort to encourage focus on the content of the social media site rather than popularity.
While in the past the total number of “likes” and views appeared at the bottom of a post, Instagram, a popular social media application, is experimenting with hiding the number. The total number of “likes” is still available to the creator of the post.
“We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many ‘likes’ your posts get,” Instagram wrote in a message to users on Nov. 14 through the app.
“The concept of social media was to bring people together, and the aspect of ‘likes’ makes it a competition for some.”
Story continues below advertisement— Cynthia Zhang, sophomore
The change was initially tested in other countries and resulted in positive feedback, according to Instagram’s Twitter page. However, Palo Alto High School students have mixed reactions.
“People aren’t going to be focused on having a higher ‘like’ count than other people,” junior Kimi Lillios said. “But I think they’re going to be more concentrated on the follower count … They want that numerical power on Instagram.”
Still, there are those that think the change is for the better.
“The concept of social media was to bring people together, and the aspect of ‘likes’ makes it a competition for some,” sophomore Cynthia Zhang said.
Others share a similar opinion.
“By removing the count for ‘likes,’ it removes something we use to compare ourselves, which can benefit our mental health,” junior Faustine Wang said.
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