In the past eight years since Instagram has been introduced, it has garnered over a billion users. It has given a voice to those looking to share with their loved ones, keep up with brands they admire and even promote themselves through their small businesses, artistic endeavors and blogging.
However, those likes that popular posts gain may not be visible to the public eye for much longer. Instagram’s disappearance of the like feature may negatively impact the way entrepreneurs and brands use the app to gain exposure.
Instagram began to roll out their new hidden likes feature in the United States last month, which will cause the like count on posts to disappear. While individual users can still see their own likes if they wish, they can’t keep track of others’ likes. At random, individual accounts have been selected in their test feature and the program is already underway in various countries including Japan, Canada and Brazil.
With the like feature gone, the use of Instagram may seem pointless. Engagement with a picture through likes can act as a major appeal for using the app. At its core, Instagram can be portrayed as a popularity contest and if likes are taken away, accounts that are trying to gain a strong following won’t see the point in staying active on the app.
While getting rid of likes may alleviate the pressure that Instagram puts on its users, this action alone won’t fully take away the problems that users have with body image issues and insecurity. The edited posts won’t be disappearing along with likes. The fault isn’t in the likes itself, but it lies in how Instagram is used and the excessive amount of altered pictures that are posted.
Instagram likes can aid in helping to further people’s careers, especially influencers who make a living off of their brand deals and affiliate links attached to their content.
Although as likes vanish, some influencers may start to see an impact on the growth of their followings. Without the measurement of likes to track the outreach their posts receive, followers may feel inclined to give less likes, resulting in smaller like counts on posts which may push them farther down Instagram’s feed algorithm.
Likes and overall engagement with followers aren’t only beneficial to influencers, but also individuals promoting their brands, including artists.
As likes further engagement with the Instagram community, it can also help artists and entrepreneurs to gain more exposure for their craft without the hassle of finding a space for their art in the prestigious industry they so desperately seek to be a part of. Some modern artists can attribute their success to the exposure they get from Instagram likes and engagement.
These connections that artists make through their likes, follower outreach and discover features can give them leverage in their careers and lead to greater sales of their work.
Let people have their likes. Instagram should give users the option of whether or not they want their likes to show, so the social media platform’s population can use it if they want to or get rid of it if they don’t. Instagram needs to keep likes to ensure that lesser-known users can become successful and easily discoverable to potential customers through ensuring that they won’t get lost in the endless stream of Instagram content.
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