Instagram: But Do You ‘Like’-Like Me?

Over the last two years, Instagram has been testing the functionality of hiding likes among a small pool of users. The ultimate goal was to protect the mental health of users by removing the added pressure of competition that comes from only deeming a post’s quality based on the number of likes it received.

**But therein lies the rub since the biggest and most frustrating algorithm update Instagram rolled out a couple of years ago was removing chronological feeds, taking away the choice of how we view our feeds and preventing thousands of posts from being seen.

The Rollout

Last week Instagram rolled out the ability to hide likes to all users. That means you can choose to only see “SamAndDean and others liked this post” on all posts you view and/or apply the same to your own posts.

I immediately hid likes across the board and, after five days, I have noticed that the number of likes (which only I can see) on my posts have been significantly low. The number of accounts my posts reach is about the same, but the engagement is missing.

Therefore, I wonder if hiding like counts lends itself to Instagram users feeling unsure about whether others consider something to be trending and/or popular and just liking in conformity, versus notating an appreciation for quality content. This brings us back to part of the reasoning behind adding the capability to hide likes in the first place: to depressurize the popular app and make it less of a content Hunger Games type vibe. Alas.

Because I can also see that my posts are reaching and being viewed by those who follow me via their home feed, I’m convinced a lot of people follow me, not to support and uplift me, but to keep an eye on how I’m growing and building my business and brand. (That’s why you won’t know what I’m working on until it drops, along with everyone else.) A photographer I follow did make an insightful point that she’s been stingy with posting her images recently because her work is better than an Instagram algorithm. I wholeheartedly agree, so I will be posting a little less going forward. Not because I need the likes, but because I don’t make fire content for Instagram. I make fire content and then choose to post it on Instagram.

All in all, I think it’s a good move for Instagram but competition, comparison, and co-opting are big parts of societal mentality, so it will take personal choices and accountability to get out of that habit.