Hiding Our Likes, A Good Idea?

"Let's see how well this photo I've posted has done today - WHY HAVEN'T YOU SHOWN MY PHOTO TO EVERYONE INSTAGRAM?! - YOU BASTARD!"


Ok, mini sweary rant over. Apart from Insta being a pain in the backside for not showing my new post to my followers AGAIN, they have caused a little bit of a debate as they have announced they are trialling a new update. This update is going to 'hide your likes'. Basically Instagram have said that this will help your followers enjoy your photos. Hmm, I've always thought that was the whole point of Instagram anyway, but hey, what do I know?!

InstaStyle by Tezza


So with blogger's and influencers talking about this, I thought I would do a poll on Twitter to see how people feel about this new update, our of pure curiosity -


Very interesting results! I'm one of these people who likes to look on each side of the fence, so let's do a little pros and cons for this shall we?

PROS
1) It can stop us becoming obsessed with numbers.
2) We can just focus on the photos people post and enjoy them!
3) You don't have to feel too shitty when a photo you're absolutely banging proud of doesn't get the attention it deserves.
4) It may help stop the jealousy and frustration of people getting more likes than you.
 
 
CONS
1) It's not exactly ideal if you're career is based around posting on Instagram.
2) You may be someone who likes to keep an eye on numbers.
I have listed more pros than cons for this, but that doesn't necessarily mean that people will agree with me.


The one positive of Instagram doing this is that it can help people's mental health and reduce social media pressure.


Let's be real here, we have suffered with comparisonitis. We scroll through our feeds and see pictures of people living their best life. Although 90% of pictures posted on the popular photo sharing app is not true to reality, you still feel that you could be better or even worse still, feel like you're not good enough. So I can see why Instagram are possibly going to develop this idea even further.
See if you can spot me...
Maybe that is why I am kind of for the hiding the likes that Instagram is possibly going to introduce. I think we are a millennial nation that is obsessed with numbers. It's quite sad in a way that we are more obsessed with likes than ever before.
 
 
Are you all for hiding likes? Get in on the debate!
 
 
Lucy

16 comments
  1. I am a bit on the fence with this. I can see the pros and cons for both sides, and definitely the effect on counting likes has for mental health. I think Instagram is a great way to share pictures, but does the like system not give you a purpose to sharing them? I will probably still use Instagram either way thoguh!

    Aimsy xoxo
    https://www.aimsysantics.co.uk

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    1. That’s a good point Aimsy, I suppose we do share pictures to see how many likes it gets as well as enjoying others xx

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  2. I'm undecided however I feel people who do become obsessed about likes and numbers etc will find other ways to value themselves

    Katie xx
    www.katienor.com

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  3. I'm not on insta, but this sounds different from what I assumed it to be - I assumed that it was going to hide the number of likes from other people looking at the post - not to stop the poster from seeing the number of likes.

    Personally, I think it would be a good thing if they hid the number of likes from people scrolling because it would put everyone on a more even footing? And not as easy to compare with missus jones down the road having more likes on her sunflowers than you do on yours?

    I don't know, I just wish they would hide likes from external viewers pretty much everywhere tbh

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  4. I think likes helps me to understand a bit more what the people who follow me want to see and helps to point me in the right direction!

    Love, Amie ❤
    The Curvaceous Vegan

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    1. That’s a good point lovely, it does give me a better idea as well! x

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  5. I'm on the fence about it all because I'm not entirely sure how it'll work. Will the whole discover page just disappear since we can't see who's liking what? It's all very confusing!

    https://www.femaleoriginal.com

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    1. I never thought of that Faye! It all is quite confusing!

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  6. Honestly, I love the idea of Instagram removing likes. It makes it easier to not get hung up on the numbers and to just focus on building and growing your blog. Because lets face it, the numbers can gets us unmotivated if we are not seeing the numbers we would like. As for career wise, there are other ways to showcase your insta account with brands such as the analytics part of Instagram.

    Enjoyed reading your post, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

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    1. I loved reading your comment lovely! I completely agree, numbers can get us unmotivated if we're not happy with them.

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  7. I like the Instagram likes as a way of showing support that doesn't take as much time as commenting. I guess taking them away might be a good way of avoiding the comparison trap, but how are we supposed to tell brands how much engagement we have? Frustrating updates like this are the reason I quit my blog Instagram lol. Thanks for the post!

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  8. I thought the idea was they were going to hide your likes from other people but you could still see them yourself? Or have I got that completely wrong?! In any case, I personally like to keep track of numbers but I wouldn't care if other people couldn't see my likes. Nor would I care if I couldn't see someone else's. But I'd like to see who's liking my own posts?

    Jenny
    http://www.jennyinneverland.com

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    1. I'm the same Jenny, I like to keep track of numbers, it gives me a good idea of what's doing well and what isn't!

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