Instagram Update: Users can Choose to Hide Likes as of May 26, 2021
With a URL slug like “giving-people-more-control” Instagram seems to be attempting to address and perhaps even target folks who have been feeling overwhelmed by the app, especially in recent months as an entire population of fully vaccinated folks are slowly venturing out into the world and seem to be documenting their journey every step of the way. Read the full release on the Instagram Blog here: Giving People More Control
Whether or not to keep likes has been a hotly debated topic for users and creators alike on Instagram for a while, it’s nothing new. Instagram took away likes for some, which led to trend-setters struggling to analyze their popular posts and felt like a relief to others who found that likes and how many they receive on any given work was a direct reflection of their own self worth.
Mental health effects aside, likes have been a less popular form of engagement since the blast from users in “power-point-activism” across the platform about saves, and how they are prioritized over likes and even comments since it indicates that people find the post relevant enough to bookmark it to come back to later (this is highly essential for people who are engaging with the “shop” feature and for users on Instagram to sell physical products in their online shops).
And with their new-ish feature Reels, and it’s growing relationship to the popular videos from the app TikTok, it’s even more common for creators to see something like 17k views but only 60–80 likes on a video. And something like 3–10 comments. Creators may struggle with engagement just the same on flat 2-D posts on the grid as they have in the past, and be unsure about how to triangulate what their audience is willing to engage in. Instagram has also created playlists and a separate tab on a user’s profile to host their reels, which begs the question of whether they may be moving towards video-based content entirely.
“Giving people more control” is also a lackluster statement from an app that regularly de-platforms, bans and restricts content from Black, Indigenous, Asian and other Creators of Color. Creating sensitivity bans around content completely unrelated to nudity for sex-workers and famously shadow-banning queer creators, Instagram giving people the option to see/not see likes on their feed feels like a drop of water into the bottom of a very tall, dry barrel of heftier complaints against the app.
That being said, it appears that Instagram is taking initiative, funding external research projects and working directly with creators known for speaking up about mental health on their platforms to work at and refine the user experience for Instagram.
“As part of these efforts, we collaborated with The Jed Foundation and creators such as Bunny Michael (@bunnymichael) and Schuyler Bailar (@pinkmantaray) on a new Instagram Guide, which offers advice on how to manage pressure online. We’re also funding more external research about people’s experiences on Instagram, and how we can improve our policies and products to support our community. We’re currently requesting research proposals from global academics and non-profits.” — Instagram Update
What exactly Instagram will glean from the data gained from this research, and what they do with it certainly remains to be seen. Who is surveyed and researched is another important question to ask regarding these data collection methods. However, commissioning creators that regularly use the platform to discuss mental wellness seems like a step in the right direction, but for many sex workers Instagram continues to be a hostile app, ever since the initial update to their terms of service in December of 2020.
Do you use Instagram? If you have any thoughts regarding the disappearance of likes on popular posts, I’d love to hear them below!
Curious about social media, and want to learn more? I offer social media consults and strategy sessions! Visit www.itsjustliz.com for more info.
