mollyfamwatOne of the more annoying aspects of social media these days is the flood of likes your profile receives. Not everyone likes the same things, and there are a lot of people that use your profile to gauge what people want. Many of them are competitors, and all they want is to get you to open up your account to them so they can make their account look better.
If you’re on Instagram, you’re probably pretty familiar with the concept of liking a photo or video. However, if you’re on the app a lot, and have a lot of followers to go with it, you may be surprised to learn that the number of likes you receive can be hidden.
Instagram is one of the most widely used social media channels. It was created in October 2010, by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. At the height of their success, they sold the company to Facebook for $1 billion, in April 2012. Since then, Instagram has continued to grow as one of the most popular social media profiles. Its user base has increased to well over 300 million, and it is now the third most used social media platform in the world.
Many users are praising the new feature (Photo: Getty)
Social media is a blessing and a curse.
As a source of communication, it’s great.
But it also fuels a culture of comparison, which (as we all know) can be detrimental to body image, mental health and many other areas.
The arrival of the new hidden like function on Facebook and Instagram is music to many people’s ears.
The new feature allows you to hide the number of “likes” for other people’s posts that appear in your feed and for posts you make on your own account.
This means that users can finally take control of social media into their own hands.
This is a small but positive step for those who want to continue using apps like Instagram and Facebook without ruining their sanity.
Natalie, a journalist in London, says she already uses this feature and finds it very useful.
She said: I immediately hid the likes as soon as it became possible on Instagram. After incarceration, the old fear slowly returns, the feeling that everyone else is more successful than me, has more fun than me, has more friends than me.
I have a difficult relationship with Instagram because I’m aware that the comparison can make me feel terrible, but I also love the element of connection and need to use social media for my work.
So, for me, removing the flavors is a better alternative than stopping the drug altogether.
Without those direct measurements that make me anxious to compare, I find this space much less stressful. Sure, there’s always comparison and curation, but at least now I don’t have to literally judge my own worth by likes.
Tara Parashar, social media ethics strategist, tells Metro.co.uk: Removing the number of likes on Instagram gives a lot of control back to users.
Removing the number of likes on Instagram is a great first step in making the platform less addictive and doing more for our mental health.
You can enable the connection through your Instagram settings (Image: Getty).
But it’s not just a win for individuals who use it for personal use, it’s also a win for small businesses.
Ann Fiona Martin, PR consultant for small businesses, said: The ability to hide likes on social media is a very positive development. This eases the social pressure of the Like button and allows each user to tailor their social media to their own needs.
The Like button can have a huge impact on mental well-being, especially for small businesses. I have found that many of my clients are stressed and anxious about counting likes.
They are frustrated by the ups and downs of using social media, especially since the number of likes can determine customers’ perceptions of the value and relevance of their business.
The ability to hide the like button avoids the common pitfall of making self-esteem dependent on the number of likes obtained on the platform.
Fiona hopes that this change will ensure that users no longer judge small businesses on Instagram based on the number of likes, which was previously a barrier for new businesses.
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However, strategist Tara Parashar points out that it is important to take into account the other challenges that remain in the social media sector.
She adds: The new feature will give us more control over our own emotional reactions to content, but not over what we see.
Ultimately, the number of likes and engagement will continue to drive the algorithm.
It’s more important that users vote with their thumbs and use social media wisely. Pay attention to people from all walks of life, delete accounts you feel uncomfortable with, don’t support agencies with questionable ethical practices.
It may not seem like it, but the reality is that influencers, brands and even social media platforms themselves are nothing without users. We have more ways to improve social media than you think.
To enable the Hide Likes feature on Instagram:
- Go to Instagram Settings
- Connecting to new messages
- Select Hide Likes and Views.
It’s worth noting that Instagram seems to be slow in rolling out the new feature, so you may have to wait for it to arrive on your phone.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get rid of hidden likes on Instagram?
Instagram had a feature that allowed you to hide likes on photos, but then they removed it. Since then, users are left in the dark about whether or not they have likes on their photos. That is, until now. Instagram is bringing back the “hiding likes” feature on IGTV, which means that users can now hide likes on videos. After more than a year, Instagram is finally making the move to make it easier to manage the likes you get on your Instagram posts. Starting in August, users will be able to hide likes on their public posts, so your Instagram likes may never show up on your profile page. If you wanted to hide your friends’ likes, you could already do that by editing the settings for your profile, and disabling that feature. With hidden likes, you’ll be able to see the likes your friends have chosen to show, but you won’t know who else has them.
Why did Instagram hide likes?
Instagram is a very popular social media platform that is owned by Facebook, which is a very popular social media platform. Therefore, Instagram is, in a nutshell, Facebook. The Instagram service, however, is a very different beast that has its own set of rules. Some of these rules include: You cannot follow, like or comment on a post if you do not have a Facebook account. This means that if you are on the service without a Facebook account, you cannot follow, like or comment on a post. Like the names of the users, the names of the Instagram profiles can be quite fun. Most Instagram users love to keep their names simple by using one or two words, but some may use a longer name, which can be quite confusing for them when they are trying to figure out how many likes their Instagram profile has received. This is where Instagram hides the likes.
How do you change it so you can see likes on Instagram?
Instagram’s new “hiding likes” feature has been a cause for concern among the Facebook-owned photo- and video-sharing app’s users. If you were to log into Instagram on a desktop computer from a different account, you wouldn’t see any likes, comments, or messages you’ve received on your feed. Rather, their content would be hidden. On mobile, the feature only appears to hide likes and comments if you log in to that account from a different device. If you log in from the same device you’re using, the “hides likes” feature appears to have no affect. As you know, Instagram is a social network built on likes. You can only see “likes” for your pictures if you allow Instagram to see your account, and you can only see likes if people have allowed Instagram to see their account.
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