Social media is a mind-numbing parasite that can play a big part in its users’ mental health, and society would be better off without it. However, it’s unlikely to disappear anytime soon, so as people continue to mindlessly scroll through posts, the public needs to at least embrace Instagram’s plan to hide likes.
According to CNN, some Instagram users will no longer see the total number of likes on a post. This number will only be visible to the owner of the account, not their followers.
Likes on Instagram are used to measure popularity and determine the success of each post and user, fostering the idea that strangers online determine self-value. This mentality has thrived with the rise of the social media influencer, who acts as a powerful entity that assists in the creation of a dominating social media empire.
While influencers can develop mental health disorders because of the pressure they may feel from focusing on gaining popularity and money, it seems none of them are willing to quit.
The number of likes a post receives leads to the number of followers a person obtains. These are the ingredients that allow influencers to exist. Without that, they wouldn’t be a visible entity of influence and able to advertise for companies, which is where their money comes from. And let’s be honest, that’s the only reason they do it in the first place.
Joe Gagliese, co-founder of influencer agency Viral Nation, told Vox in an interview that influencers with 10,000 to 50,000 followers can earn up to a couple thousand dollars for each post. Those with one million followers can receive about $10,000 per post.
Influencers can be regular people who gain popularity for simple tasks, like being what some might call funny or for filming themselves eating, so many want to do the same thing because it seems like a simple way to get rich fast.
While an influencer’s money and glamour may look like something anyone can have, it’s not.
“It’s like winning the lottery. A lot of it is luck,” Gagliese said in a Vox interview, when asked if being an influencer was easy. Therefore, chasing after something so unrealistic is not worth the impact it can have on a person’s mental state.
While social media has its problems, a small way to help combat worsening mental health is to take away the one thing that can make people spiral into a pit of despair. By not allowing followers to be concerned with the amount of likes others get on their posts, it may lessen feelings of anxiety or depression which may stem from self-doubt.
Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media are more likely to internalize behaviors, which can be an indicator of a mental health problem, according to a 2019 study by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study also states that “internalizing can involve social withdrawal, difficulty coping with anxiety or depression or directing feelings inwards.”
Instagram’s new proposal won’t stop influencers from falling down a well of unhealthy mental illnesses, but it may help those who try to follow in their footsteps. Having the number of likes remain hidden from followers, especially those who are young and impressionable, may stop them from setting their sights on an unlikely end goal.
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