The power of the “Like” may finally be coming to its end. This is one step towards solving problems in today’s culture of validation.
Instagram has recently run a test that involved removing the ability of users to see how many likes an individual post has received, so only the owner of the post can see how many likes it gets.
This is a huge change in social media. It may be a shock to many to not be able to see how many likes a post has. It is a relief that social media developers are finally trying to break today’s obsession with likes.
Our culture has come to grow up and create the importance of things such as followers and likes because we have a tendency to want recognition. It’s at the point where it turned into a competition where the person with the most likes and followers receives the most praise and ¨clout¨ from their peers.
Social media started off as a way to keep in touch with close friends and relatives. However once it began to grow and more people were getting involved, it became almost like a game to see how many likes and followers one person can get.
People do things today like finding the perfect caption with the right filter to try and get as much validation from their peers as possible. It makes them feel good about themselves but there are also downsides to that.
Self-image issues, cyberbullying, anxiety, and social isolation are a few of the issues people have had to, unfortunately, come across and it has led to some dire consequences such as suicide. These are the same issues that tech companies have had to deal with for a little while now and it seems that they’re finally responding.
With Instagram taking away likes a few things can start to be resolved. One of them is that no one can feel the need to flaunt their likes to show what their social status is like among their peers. The ¨competition¨ of getting more likes than that person ends.
Even though it may still be able to see how many likes a post have, you won’t have to worry about what others think. There’s less pressure to keep posting and checking on your peers’ likes.
With Instagram taking steps like these, their platform can start to be used in a healthy and productive manner.
Even though this one change will help solve only a few problems, I believe it will prompt all social media companies such as Facebook and Youtube to take further steps to make social media a safe platform.
Although platforms may see a decline in interactions which they need to gain revenue, I think they’ll make the sacrifice for the health of their users.