I almost cheered out loud in the middle of the coffee shop I was working in when the news broke that Instagram is trialling a new ‘no likes’ model. In several countries, including Australia, Canada and Ireland, Instagram is hiding the number of likes on posts in order to “remove pressure” on users. The experiment is intended to shift the focus away from making Instagram feel ‘like a competition’ in which users compete to see how many likes they can rack up. For so many reasons, this is a wonderful win for young people growing up online.
If this goes ahead worldwide, users are going to be able to post freely without the worry of other people’s approval, which so often has led to the ubiquitous question, “Will this get any likes?” As is, Instagram comes with this life-altering pressure that nobody really talks about. We often start making decisions based on whether our life will look good on the platform, leading us to live a different life than the one we actually want. “Should I go to that trendy Instagram-worthy class because it’ll look good for the ‘gram?’ or just stick to my regular cardio class that I genuinely enjoy?” “Should I go to my favorite pub or that new place that everyone is talking about?” “Shit, it’s autumn, I best do an autumnal thing ASAP to look ‘in season’, even if it means going for a leafy walk/photo session with hot-chocolate which I can’t be arsed doing…”
Instagram ‘likes’ are the heart of this ‘Instagram pressure’. Wouldn’t it be liberating to experience a restaurant without the unnecessary effort of doing an Instagram story to show where you are, what your food looks like and who you’re there with? Wouldn’t there be something quite blissful about going to a greasy spoon cafe and not worry whether it’ll look good on Instagram? It’s okay, really, to order the unfashionable earl grey and a full English and be done with it!
The goal of removing Instagram ‘likes’, is that users feel less judged and to see “whether this change can help people focus less on likes and more on telling their story”. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri also said the aim was to minimize the stress of posting online with users competing over the number of likes their posts receive. “We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about,” he explained.
“We want Instagram to be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves,” said Mia Garlick, Facebook’s director of policy for Australia and New Zealand. “We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love.”
It’s a bold move by Instagram, but arguably a necessary one. There is growing concern about the effect of social media on young people’s mental health and self-esteem. Makes sense given that you don’t have to spend long on Instagram before you find thousands of people who are evidently better-looking, more successful, and richer than you. It’s reported that these visuals are causing 51% of girls aged 11 to 21 to wish they looked more like pictures of other women they see online.
The Instagram ‘no likes’ model also signals the death of the influencer. A world without social media influencers could be, on the whole, a more honest, joyful and healthier place. There have been ongoing studies that social media influencers on Instagram can contribute to low self-esteem, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy in young people and ultimately in some extreme cases, suicide. The pressure that a lot of social media influencers have perhaps unintentionally put on young people, has been damaging, and the influencer culture in parts has been harmful, toxic and pressurising.
“Bright dings of pseudo-pleasure,” was how Justin Rosenstein, the Facebook engineer who created the ‘like’ button, described the function. According to Silicon Valley rebel Tristan Harris, the ‘like’ reward system on social media was designed using gambling psychology. Like Pavlov’s dogs, we’ve been trapped in an addictive feedback loop of ‘likes’ for the last decade. We are addicted to likes because likes were designed to be addictive.
When it comes to social media, sometimes we give ourselves too much credit and think people care about what we’re doing – people can really live without our gym and breakfast updates. Living a life without ‘likes’ could make us start to reevaluate what our reasons are for posting and who we are we posting for. Is it that girl you used to work with and didn’t like very much? Is it for your ex? Your ex’s girlfriend? Your ex’s ex? What is the motive behind our posts? To make people jealous? To brag? I think most of us have been guilty of it.
When we hold back what we share, it can be a very empowering thing. If we stop doing things for the ‘likes’, perhaps we could start living like no one is watching. We don’t need to keep letting the world know that we still have a social life. We could be with friends and not be interrupted by a need to promote our social life on social media – just to prove how fun we are. Going out to meet a pal and place the sole focus on them and how they’re doing, sounds like a much better way to do life. The focal point of our interactions would be shifted from trying to achieve a flattering photo and ordering the most swanky cocktail so you can Instagram the shit out of it – to fostering our most meaningful relationships.
Perhaps our lives would be less pretentious and less painfully self-aware of where we’re going and what we’re doing. Not to mention our meet ups’ and hang outs’ would be more private not shared with strangers on the internet. All of a sudden, we’re in a place where we don’t feel the need and the pressure to prove that we’re living and happy online. We may feel like we have regained some life back and some control back over our social, work and love lives. Could our ‘own business’ become our own business again?
It’s no secret that too many of us rely on Instagram ‘likes’ for affirmation and put more effort into the social media version of ourselves, rather than the real life version. Without counting our ‘likes’, perhaps we’ll become fuller and brighter versions of ourselves, rather than relying on social media to speak for us. Without these ‘likes’, surely our self-esteem and satisfaction will come from a much healthier place, and that can only be a good thing.
Artwork by Esme Rose Marsh
