Social media giant, Instagram has started a trial that hides the number of likes on posts of users in America and could possibly go global soon.
The news-style has already been tested in Japan Australia, Canda. If the new format should work in the United State, the change will be rolled out globally as soon as possible. Instagram users across the globe will have their number of likes hidden from viewers. The decision to hide likes from the public is so that users can focus on the photos and videos a person shares instead, according to Instagram.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri backed the idea up by saying that ‘like features will help people’s well-being and health. Speaking at the Wired25 conference a week ago about the development, he said Instagram and its team will make decisions that hurt the business if they help peoples wellbeing and health. This comes after Instagram was branded the worst social network for peoples mental health, linking it to depression and anxiety in 2017.
Already Celebrities and influencers are not happy with this new development as it will affect their collaboration with companies who can see their likes and views which is a way to determine how much an influencer is paid.
This will also mean everyone posts including celebrities will have no likes. As bad as it sounds, people are addicted to likes and might find it a little hard to adjust.
Could this be the downfall of Instagram?
