Hi everyone! Each week, I am going to be writing about alternative perspectives, that we might not be thinking about, that we should be considering as we dive into the weekly topic. If there are other points of view that we missed and haven’t considered, please do not hesitate to reach out!
So what should we be thinking about as we think about Instagram’s potential new feature?
Influencers are not happy about this!
Taking away ‘likes’ on Instagram will only benefit those who use the app for fun, aka people whose jobs are not reliant on the app. Influencers make a living off of Instagram and their job involves much more than posting a cute selfie with intentional product placement. There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to story and feed posts and paid partnerships, as many anonymous influencers have divulged to ManRepeller. The stakes are high when your income is dependent on the success of your content because your “audience is your boss”, claims Canadian influencer Tee Go of ThatSoTee. Just as our college papers get graded, everyday influencers use the number of ‘likes’ as their grade on an Instagram post. Taking ‘likes’ away will make their jobs a heck of a lot harder and we need to take that into consideration.
Why Can't We Choose For Ourselves?
One of the biggest issues, in my opinion, with this new feature to hide ‘likes’ is that it is NOT optional! Every other feature that Instagram has implemented over the years has features where we can choose the how, as the user, we engage with it. For instance, when Instagram introduced its’ ‘private story’ feature where users can select which friends can see a more personalized story. The feature has only been introduced in 7 countries but already users are taking fault with the lack of choice they have. We live in a day and age where we hold free speech sacred, so why can’t we have the freedom to see our own ‘likes’ for the content we share with the world?
Even more ‘ validation’ with Instagram business insights!
Instagram, good try but just getting rid of ‘likes’ is not going to cut it! Although the number of ‘likes’ a post receives is a viable metric to compare yourself to someone else, there are still many other ways people can compare themselves on social media. Rest assured Instagram users with “business accounts” you can still see the number of comments, DMs, story views, shares, re-posts and the list goes on. Essentially, there are many ways we can use numbers to validate ourselves on Instagram with its advanced business-oriented technology. In fact, many young adults are making their accounts “business accounts” to see even more detailed metrics on how their posts perform. Instagram is clearly not considering all the loopholes, they themselves designed!
If not Instagram, then Twitter? Facebook? VSCO?
You heard here first folks, VSCO is taking over! Well… not just yet but the photo editing/design app has gained some serious popularity in the last few years and at a rapid pace. In 2016, the app’s user base grew by 952% and by 2018, VSCO raised an estimated $50 million in revenue and with venture capital funding, drew in a total worth estimate of $550 million dollars. With that kind of financial success, Instagram really should be worried about its user’s interests. In parallel to the app’s successful funding, is the rising wave of the “VSCO girl”, aka the cute girl in school with a zillion scrunchies, a hydroflask and enough all-natural lip balm for her whole grade. The app welcomes an aesthetic that can not exclusively be achieved on Instagram and thanks to this they have harnessed a following. On VSCO, photos can be edited to look like they were just taken off a polaroid camera and ‘likes’ can always be seen! Sounds like heaven!
Social Media is Not Here to Harm, it’s Here to Unify
Last but not least, let’s all take an ‘Insta-breath’ and remember that social media is not here to harm us! It’s an incredibly effective social tool that unifies people from around the world. Someone from New York can follow their friend or a stranger that inspires them at lives in Tokyo, or a friend in Oslo, Norway. Instagram is able to overcome geographical distance like no other app has in the past. Thanks to Insta-stories we can create mini photo books of the places we see and share it with the world. Hiding ‘likes’ might only help a little to reduce the need to compare ourselves or validate ourselves based on numbers. What about instead, Instagram introduces even more ways to explore other places, other cultures, and other experiences? How about features to improve the existing benefits of the platform instead of ones that take away from it?
