Where Did My Instagram Likes Go?

On Tuesday afternoon, I was checking my Instagram as I usually do, but I noticed something out of the ordinary. All of a sudden all of my likes were gone. Not just my likes, but the likes on everyone’s photos.

What Happened?

Instagram has been testing out removing like counts from user’s accounts for years. Some of my friends were a part of the original test in 2019, but I was not so I was confused on Tuesday when I could no longer see them. For example, posts would just say “liked by carolinegale7 and others”. I was curious if they were doing another test or if they just decided to remove likes all together. I decided to do some research, and according to Business Insider, it turns out that a bug caused the like counts to go missing. The next day I opened the app, and the like counts were back. This got me thinking about if Instagram should actually remove like counts for good or not.

Debate about removing of likes

Instagram has gotten some criticism in recent years for affecting its users’ mental health. First of all, many photos on Instagram portray unrealistic beauty standards. People often post photos with filters or photos that have been photoshopped. This results in self-confidence issues, especially amongst young girls. There is also a competitive culture on Instagram related to like counts. There is concern that some people may view their self-worth as related to the amount of likes they receive. By removing the like count feature, users can focus more on the content rather than the number of likes. There are some disadvantages as well. Like counts are helpful to influencers and businesses who need those numbers to demonstrate their success. However, they can also demonstrate this through engagement, followers, comments and shares. Some users also do enjoy seeing like counts.

My Thoughts

Personally, I understand why Instagram is testing out hiding likes. I do recognize that there is an unhealthy competitive nature surrounding likes. However, I think it should be up to the user whether or not they want their like counts to be shown to others. I was relieved in 2019 to find out that I was not a part of the test. I enjoy looking at how many likes my friends receive on their photos. If I had the choice, I probably wouldn’t hide my likes. I think that I have gotten past the point of caring how many likes I receive, but I definitely used to. If I had the option to hide my likes when I was in high school, I may have done it.

What do you think?

Talk to you soon!

Caroline