Yesterday, Instagram began the extension of a trial that hides the number of likes on the posts of users globally.
Not all Instagram users worldwide were affected. However, U.S and many other countries, including Nigeria, were affected by this trial as have been observed.
This trial has already been tested in Australia, Canada, Japan and a handful of other territories. If it works in the US, the change is expected to be rolled out globally, with users of Instagram all over the world having their number of likes hidden from their viewers.
According to Instagram, the decision to hide your number of likes from others is so that users can “focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.”
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said hiding the “like” feature will help people’s well-being and health.
Speaking last week at the Wired25 conference about this new development, Mosseri said: “We will make decisions that hurt the business if they help people’s wellbeing and health.”
A 2017 study found that Instagram was the worst social network for your mental health, linking it to depression and anxiety.
So, tell us if you think that hiding the number of “likes” from other Instagram users will solve anything? Do you think the anxiety that comes with garnering likes on posts will be reduced? Won’t businesses that advertise on Instagram be affected negatively by this? How do you feel about this new development? Tell us in the comment section below.
