Instagram hiding 'likes' on a post will NOT, in my opinion, solve the problem at hand.
While it is true that Instagram can damage our mental health, I think the problem goes way beyond the number of likes we receive. Instagram has gone from being a fun place to share pictures of your life to a competition about who has the most “Instagram-able” life.
To me, it’s pretty clear that Instagram has one of the biggest influences on our mental health and the way that we view ourselves. As a 21-year old girl, I find myself comparing my own life to others that I see on Instagram. To me, it’s never really a comparison of the number of likes we receive, but more so what kind of lives we live.
We constantly compare our lives with what we see on social media. Whether it’s the way we look or the way we live, we’re always comparing... and I believe that comparison is the real thief of joy.
Everyone posts “highlights reel” of their lives on social media. There’s nothing wrong with that (I do it too), but it’s something we need to be more aware of. I am thankful that I have come to the realization that Instagram is everyone’s highlights reel (or even fabricated versions of their lives). I also know that there are plenty of people out there who haven' come to this realization. Many people continue to compare the reality of their lives to the Instagram version of other lives.
This culture of comparison is Instagram's biggest downfall.
Constantly comparing ourselves is what negatively affects people’s perceptions of their own reality. It’s an issue way bigger than the number of likes we receive. I don’t think that Instagram removing the ability to see how many likes a post has received will help this issue whatsoever. Instagram is using this new feature as a mask for the true problem.
Instagram's platform will not change all that much without the ability to see how many likes other posts receive. Instead of people trying to get likes, users might obsess over trying to get the most comments on their posts. I believe that is the natural next step. What happens when the number of comments (or lack thereof) becomes the new thing that negatively affects our mental health? Is Instagram going to take that away too? Then what are we left with? Scrolling through our friends' posts without any kind of interaction?
Removing the visible likes will start a downward spiral until Instagram ceases to exist.
Instead of putting energy into removing a feature that isn’t even the main cause of the problem, Instagram should focus on their culture and how it got to that point. I’m not an expert and can not advise on how Instagram can do this, but I do know that actually having conversations that acknowledge the problem is a great start.
