Instagram likes will be going away for some users in the U.S. this week. On Friday (Nov. 10), CEO Adam Mosseri announced at the WIRED25 conference that Instagram will do a test run of removing like counts on posts in order to reduce the negative impact the feature has made on the culture of social media.
“We will make decisions that hurt the business if they help people’s well-being and health,” Mosseri said. First reported by Wired, the tech company has already tested taking away the feature in other countries, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. The user will still be able to see the number of likes, but their followers will not.
The move comes at a time where entrepreneurial aspirations are at an all-time high. Influencers on Instagram are already feeling the sting of the change. For them, likes is essential to their brand and plays as a marketing tool to persuade others to buy into whatever they’re selling. The feature also helps the Instagram influencer to gain sponsors.
Cardi B and Nicki Minaj expressed their opinions on the testing. “If anything is affecting Instagram right now, I really feel it’s the way the comments have been done or have been changing these past few years,” Cardi B said in a video on social media. “Because I feel people been saying the most weirdest sh*t, been starting the craziest arguments, been starting to race bait, all because of comments, because they want to get to the top, they want to get the most reactions.”
Nicki Minaj said she would quit the platform altogether if the like counts are removed from the public’s view, even though the user will still be able to see the likes. “I’m not posting on IG after this week cuz they removing the likes,” the rap star said.
Hiding likes may be bad for business, but leadership at Instagram believes it will help reduce pressure for people to do outrageous things that will make them popular or go viral.
“The idea is to try to ‘depressurize’ Instagram, make it less of a competition and give people more space to focus on connecting with people that they love, things that inspire them,” Mosseri said at the tech conference.
