If you keep up with world of Instagram, you’ll know that Mark Zuckerberg has shaken things up yet again. The newest tidbit? Instagram is now hiding likes. This rolled out as an ‘experiment’ in Canada, but from what I hear, this change is here to stay, and it’ll be rolled out worldwide in the next little while.
We all remember the days of chronological Instagram. Where we’d snap a picture on our phones, edit on the app (Valencia filter, wassup), post said picture, answer a few comments and move on. Those days are gone. Now Instagram is like a toddler that needs all our attention, all the time, and if we choose to neglect it, there are consequences to be had. There’s DMs, IGTV, IG stories, highlights, and so many other components that the app has introduced. And every day it evolves.
Listen, it’s easy to sit here and complain about how much Instagram has changed and how we miss the good ol’ days. We can all sit here and bitch about the algorithm. But that’s the thing with technology, it evolves. That’s why it’s important for content creators to a) spread the fuck out on different platforms, and b) focus on community.
I could write a whole blog post on why it’s important to spread out on different platforms and always, ALWAYS have your own website. But that’s a conversation for another day. So in an effort to stay on topic, let’s discuss point b. I’m of the belief that social media should not be a popularity contest. It should be a way to cultivate a strong community and impact them deeply. My vision for Icing & Glitter has always been to inspire you guys to live your best lives through honest conversation and high-value content. It’s much more important to communicate with you through DMs and comments than be validated with likes, but that’s just me. Which brings me to my thoughts on this change.
I don’t care. Having a public like count visible doesn’t matter to me in the least. I create because I like to create. I’ll continue creating long after Instagram is gone. And if you’re a content creator, I don’t think you should worry about this change either. My hope is that people focus more on creating high-quality content and cultivating a strong relationship with their communities.
But what about brand partnerships? Who knows wtf will happen, but all analytics will still be available to the creators themselves, so brands will still have access to that information. But I do hope that having to go an extra step to get analytics will push brands to focus more on quality of content than likes (which we all know can be bought). But on the other hand, my friend Lauren from @thisrenegadelove pointed out that it can also be argued that brands will continuously work with content creators they already know, since hiring new content creators would mean asking for those analytics.
Personally, I think this could go either way. It could be a really positive thing in the world of social media. I’ve spoken over and over again about Instagram being a highlight reel. Which is why I make a conscious effort to show BTS scenes of my extremely un-glamorous day to day life (mostly sweaty gym clothes, hanging out with my brother, watching Game of Thrones, making smoothies, and having coffee with friends). But even with this growing conversation, there are still complaints of people feeling overwhelmed due to the pressure of perfection from social media. Hiding likes is certainly one way to address this problem.
However, I also think it could be a negative thing. Perhaps this will be the slow demise of the business of Instagram. I honestly don’t know. But what I do know is to not put all my eggs into the Instagram basket. It’s unpredictable and we don’t own it. One day it can be in our lane and the next, it can be screwing us over. So be smart about your social media strategy.
What are your thoughts? Do you think Instagram hiding likes is a good thing?
PS – don’t forget to check out what camera equipment I use and my breakdown of what liketoknow.it is.