Product Spotlight: How NOT To Get Likes On Instagram?

Under Adam Mosseri’s leadership, Instagram is testing a new feature and this is what happens when I post a picture:

1. I’ll be able to see the number of likes for my picture.
2. But you won’t be able to see the number of likes I get. You’d just see [your friend] and others liked this picture.
3. You’ll still be able to see the names of who liked my picture, but not the actual count.

Photo by Daria Nepriakhina

Instagram is one of the worse platform for this generation’s mental health — users look for constant social validation, the numbers get them anxious, they get depressed by the fact that everyone is so happy all the time, etc. So, it is good to see Instagram investing in their users’ mental health. Fun fact: according to businessinsider, an episode of Black Mirror inspired Adam Mosseri to test this idea.

Our opinion:

• People are anxious to validate if they have a good enough life, and if their life is better than the people around them. Social media helps them do just that and feeds their anxiety.
• Metrics and gamification are at the epicenter for such tools and so they cannot survive without such metrics.
• I consider Instagram’s attempt a work in progress because users can still see their own likes…