Should Instagram Get Rid of Likes?

Dear Instagram,

I heard that you are considering hiding likes from public view. I love the idea that only I would get to see how many people liked my latest selfie. But here’s the thing: Hiding likes doesn’t go far enough. I think you should get rid of likes altogether.

I know getting likes is supposed to make us feel good. But in reality, only getting a lot of likes makes us feel good. Getting a small number makes us feel awful. For example, a few weeks ago I posted a photo of me and my dog, Barley. Well, I got one measly like—and it was from my mom. I was so embarrassed that all my followers could see that I only got one sad little like that I deleted the photo. Then I looked at my friends’ photos that got hundreds of likes and felt even worse. I thought, maybe if I looked different—if I had better hair or better clothes—then I would have hundreds of likes too.

Do you really want your users feeling this insecure? The point of Instagram is to have fun, be creative, and share our lives with each other. Instead, we feel like we’re in a popularity contest, constantly checking our latest like tallies. It’s all too distracting and stressful.

And did you see that recent report released by the Royal Society for Public Health in the U.K.? It found that Instagram was the most harmful social media platform for young people’s well-being. It actually makes us feel anxious and depressed. That’s because many of us allow the number of likes we get to affect our confidence. If we don’t get gazillions of likes, we feel like we’re not special or important. And this would be true even if likes were hidden from public view. If I know I’m not getting a lot of likes, I am going to feel miserable. Period.

Getting rid of likes could also make Instagram more real. Right now, many people share only the most perfect, edited versions of themselves. Some of my friends spend hours and hours trying to take the perfect selfie with the perfect filter. If we weren’t so worried about likes, we would post more authentic photos. And in my opinion, that would be a positive change.

I hope you will consider my idea.

Thank you for your time,

Nick Patterson

Dear Instagram,

My friend Nick recently sent you a letter arguing that you should get rid of likes. But that would be a shame. The like feature is the best part of Instagram. You should keep it—and likes should stay public too.

Part of the fun of Instagram is scrolling through my feed and liking my friends’ posts—it’s a way to show support. It’s also fun to see what posts my friends have liked. That helps me discover new photos, memes, and videos as well as new hashtags to follow. Without likes, none of that would be possible.

Sure, if you don’t get a lot of likes on a post, you might be bummed. But you shouldn’t be. It’s not like anyone “disliked” your post, which you can do on other (meaner !) apps. Instagram likes are purely positive. Whether you get 1, 10, or 1,000, you should feel great.

Still, I understand that Instagram can negatively affect your self-esteem when you start comparing your likes to other people’s. But if Instagram really wants to help its users feel better about themselves, you should get rid of the comments feature, or monitor it better. A lot of nasty cyberbullying goes on in Instagram comments. And cruel comments are far more harmful to me than the fact that my cat selfie only got two likes.

And what about all the influencers who depend on Instagram for their livelihoods? Their income is often based on the number of likes they get per photo. The more likes they get, the more brands want to work with them. Now, I wouldn’t mind if fewer people were trying to sell me lip gloss and energy drinks on Instagram, but that doesn’t mean it’s fair to destroy someone’s business.

Again, I do appreciate that you are trying to make a positive change, but I hope that after reading this letter, you’ll keep the likes. They make the world a happier, more supportive place.

Sincerely,

Kira Greene