I’m sure many of you have either used or heard of Instagram at some point. This app has grown in popularity over the past few years. It is honestly one of the biggest platforms in the world. Everyone loves to share their pictures and get likes and comments. Instagram has decided to remove “likes” from being seen by followers. The app already quietly removed its activity feature, which allowed users to see what their followers commented on and liked. It also allowed people to see who others followed.
When I think about Instagram I think about “likes”. I mean, that is the main feature of the app. People post things to receive likes or some reaction. My career is based on this feature because I post on social media for local businesses. Removing this feature changes the platform entirely.
I have heard mixed reactions about removing likes from the platform, and outside of my social media coordinator job, I do like that they are removing the number from posts. I feel like it will encourage people to post more authentic posts without worrying about the number of likes it will get. I think people should stop finding validation from social media, but at the same time, I do worry about how it will impact the people who use Instagram.
From a business perspective, it is helpful to be able to see the number of likes. I find a lot of inspiration on what to post through other people’s accounts, and I feel like if I cannot see the number of likes, I will not know what will do well on our business feed. I find this to be a burden on the business side because it could change the number of sales.
So, will Instagram do a complete turnaround? They already changed the entire algorithm, and now the number of likes will be removed. Maybe they will start listening to their users and turn it back to chronological order?
