A World Without Likes: Will This Social Media Experiment Last?
We’re all guilty of doing it. “Feeling cute, might delete later,” is a relatable saying. If we don’t see enough likes, we just take down a post entirely.
What would it be like if social media became a world without likes?
In Australia and some other countries, Facebook began experimenting with removing the likes feature on posts on Instagram and Facebook. The move is an attempt to harken back to the roots of what this social media platform is all about: people sharing their original ideas.
Director of policy for Facebook Australia and New Zealand, Mia Garlick, told the Guardian that “the change was made with the intention of freeing Instagram users from judgment and helping people to focus ‘less on likes and more on telling their story.’”
When the Facebook experiment launched, Garlick noted the move was in part to try and improve the mental health of the social media platform’s users.
“Certainly, a large part of the driver for this is based on feedback from wellbeing researchers, and we’ve certainly had positive comments from mental health experts, and there is evidence that if you can see other people’s like counts, then that can impact how you’re interacting on the platform. So we just want to see if this is something that, by removing it, and making it private, if this does increase the value people find on the platform,” Garlick said.
Hopefully, the move will end this:
*Post selfie on Instagram*— Caleb (@CBowers_15) November 4, 2013
*No one likes selfie*
*Stealthy removes selfie from Instagram*
And lead to more of this!
plot twist: instagram removes the ability for people to like and comment on pictures; therefore, people post what they want instead of what they think will get likes— mary spencer (@mencervz) July 21, 2018
that would be refreshing for me
After all, isn’t this what social media was supposed to be about?
But companies had found a way to monetize social media through the “likes” commodity culture that was created. Now, the influencers who benefitted from this arrangement are crying foul.
Business Insider reported on the experiment’s impact on Canadian influencers, more than half of whom reported seeing their numbers of likes drop and growth of their follower accounts slow.
While removing likes could spell the end of the influencer economy, it seems unlikely. There are plenty of other ways to influencers to measure the response from their community. Business Insider’s story noted that there hasn’t been a decrease in the interest of companies in seeking out influencers.
Do you like the idea of removing likes? Would you like to see influencers pushed off social media? Share your “likes” in the comments below!
Hi Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about this recently too and I like your take. You connect the monetization of likes from bushiness to our own feelings of inadequacy online in a way that speaks to marketing psychology and its effects on everyone on a personal level. Influencer marketing through social media might just be the most effective marketing strategy yet. It's one thing to see brands use models and celebrities to sell their products but its more confusing when we see more "normal" people advertising for brands. Given these influencers are normally also attractive and established in their fields, maybe we are internalizing these ads more than celebrity endorsed ads. In this uncharted territory its hard to estimate how much this is effecting us all as a society. I'm really interested to see if their are positive long term effects on people's mental health and well being in connection to social media as a result of this experiment.
The like may create a trend, people may give up their style in order to cater to this trend. But maybe people just want to make others pay attention to themselves because human beings are social animals. Imagine if a person's words and thoughts have been 'liked' by thousands or more over night, will his/her self-confidence grow rapidly? Some people will enjoy this feeling. On the other hand, people will look for a common language through likes. I think it might be possible to develop other similarly like features to differentiate group behavior. Because even if the like function is removed, people will find alternatives such as visit or retweet.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting! I agree with your point that fixation with likes ends up leading people to post what they expect to gain a positive reaction from, rather than what they might actually want to post. I would personally "like" it if the feature was removed. In many cases, the amount of likes seems to be subjective anyway, and the time posted and activity on others' posts can influence it more than the actual content. It seems rather pointless, in the end- likes do not create any kind of payoff in the real world.
ReplyDeleteI think removing likes might actually be good for social media. I feel like most users are extremely passive, only liking others’ posts and occasionally posting something. With the removal of likes, I think social media platforms will encourage more active users. If users could only share or comment, then they would turn into more active users who share their thoughts and ideas about something. Instead of seeking likes and attention, people might actually start engaging with others in a more meaningful way. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsay! I had no idea that Facebook tested the idea of removing likes. Thanks for sharing. We don't even think twice about our motivations of sharing content on social media. It's actually become second nature to us. In one of my other classes, we were talking about how social media has made us so intent on receiving instant gratification. It's like the wiring of our brains is changing. Also, love the memes (extra brownie points for Michael Scott!)
ReplyDeleteI had a good read and you had a very interesting caption too. Its something I have really thought of and considered how social media was going to be without the like button. I'm pretty sure it is going to encourage people to generate content.
ReplyDelete