Instagram: The Impact of the 11th Like
Ever wait anxiously for the 11th like on your Instagram photo? You’re not the only one. For most Instagram users, the 11th like on one of your posts is an important milestone. It represents the turning point for when usernames switch into coveted numbers — symbolizing the picture’s popularity. Many users, in turn, use this number as a marker for a post’s relative success or failure. If the post is a success, users feel a sense of relief that their post wasn’t in the dreaded in-between of 1 to 10 likes.
What happens though when a post falls in the in-between? Many users can actually feel as if they are unpopular — negatively affecting their self-esteem. This is most common in teenagers, who have grown up in the social media-craze where a like means more than it used to. It can feel like a failure or an embarrassment to have a post that doesn’t go over the 10th like. Some users might even delete their posts secretly if it’s stuck in the in-between, or take it to the next extreme and practically beg for likes. Hashtags including #11likes, #11likesthankyou, #11likesplease, and #11likesormore are among the hashtags begging for followers to give them the coveted 11th like.
Because of one simple like, users can develop feelings of depression, loneliness, resentment, and a lowered self-esteem. For example, if a user only gets two likes on a post, they might think “what’s wrong with me?” This type of thinking leads to feelings of insecurity and anxiety over how many likes a certain post will get and obsessive behavior, such as constantly checking the like count. The question remains — should a simple number have that much impact on a person’s life?
The Negative Consequences of Social Media
Social media has allowed brands to grow their businesses and connect with users in unique ways. However, it is important to look at the other effects social media may be having on individuals.
Research over the years has found that social media can negatively affect a person’s well-being. In 2012, the University of Salford Business School in the UK conducted research on social media’s effects on self-esteem and anxiety. With the use of surveys, the study’s findings concluded that social networks could significantly cause a lower self-esteem and an increase in anxiety. Of the study’s 298 participants, 50% reported that using social media made their lives worse and negatively impacted their self-esteem, specifically when comparing their online friends’ achievements to their own. In 2013, a two-week study at the University of Michigan also found that the more participants used the social network Facebook, the more their life satisfaction levels dropped. Although there was only a small participant pool for both studies, current research has resulted in similar findings.
Social interaction is an integral part of a human’s basic needs. However, these findings show that instead of enhancing the participants’ well-being, social networks may have the complete opposite effect. The researchers at the University of Michigan found that more face-to-face interactions with others led participants to feel better over time. So, in this case, what makes Facebook and other social networks, like Instagram, different from normal social interaction?
The Like Effect
People, especially young teenagers, are constantly comparing themselves to their friends. On social media, comparing your life to others is amplified, triggering feelings of inferiority and envy. A social media user’s numbers of likes and pictures fuel immediate social comparison and are the driving forces that lower an individual’s self-esteem. They often distort a reality where users feel as if their online friends’ lives are better than their own.
Feelings of envy first appeared on Facebook, however, in recent years Facebook envy has now taken a step back to the new number one self-confidence dropper — Instagram. The image-driven, social network is based on everything from Facebook that causes users the most stress, anxiety and insecurity: pictures, likes and comments.
Over the years, Instagram has unintentionally created a fixation with likes. Users more than ever are constantly focused on the amount of likes they receive on a post, hoping they’re not stuck in the dreaded in-between. Instagram users instantly feel better about themselves when they receive more likes. Likes can translate as a form of reassurance and give users the desired attention they’ve been looking for. The more likes a user gets on a post, the greater the social standing they appear to have. But what happens when users get used to the 11th like or more?
If you usually get 100 or more likes on a post, you expect to reach at least that many likes each time. If a post isn’t reaching the desired amount of likes, it can lead to users becoming extremely anxious and insecure about their post, unfortunately, causing a decrease in their own self-esteem. It’s a vicious and exhausting cycle of overthinking and an expectation that is hard to keep up. It goes to show that it doesn’t matter if you’re looking for the 11th like or 100th like, everyone experiences the same stressful and overwhelming feelings where all of your worst fears come to the surface.
The Possible Solution
Instagram may be coming up with a solution to the 11th like phenomenon. Instagram is re-thinking the way users see likes. Instead of seeing usernames in the in-between, users will now see numbers earlier. No more anxiously waiting for the 11th like. Although some users have reported that the likes on their post turned over after the first three or four, it is unclear if users will see numbers starting from the first like or a smaller threshold will be in place. Instagram recently confirmed testing this new feature on a few of its users, however, no specifics have been released. Instagram hasn’t confirmed if or when the feature would show up for more users.
This may sound like a small change to a much bigger problem, but it could be a significant one — especially for the younger users of Instagram. The change may help reduce feelings of depression, loneliness, and resentment and, most importantly, help boost self-confidence. Hopefully, no longer will users feel as if they are unpopular or a “loser” anymore. Although some Instagram users might not like the new feature and some still might feel anxious over the 11th like, this change could help stop the constant and often anxiety-inducing fixation on likes.
