Facebook has announced the addition of the feature to hide the number of likes on posts on the Facebook and Instagram platforms, with the aim of providing ways to control what they see and what they want to share with others.
The company said in a statement, published on its blog, that starting from Wednesday, it will give users across its platforms the option to hide the numbers of fans, after testing it over the last period.
She explained that this feature may reduce pressure on the owners of the publications to get more likes, but on the other hand, it may be annoying to others looking for what is popular or not popular through the number of likes.
According to a report in tech crunch, the decision has been in development for years, but its priority has been lowered due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the response work required by Facebook, the company says.
Reduce pressure
Originally, the idea of ​​hiding the number of likes on Facebook and Instagram was focused on reducing pressure on users´ experience. Oftentimes, users experienced anxiety and embarrassment about their posts if they did not receive enough likes to be considered "popular". This problem has been particularly difficult for younger users who value so much what their peers think of them that they will delete posts that don´t get enough likes.
The interest in getting likes on Instagram, in particular, has helped create an environment in which people post to gain influence and fame. On Facebook, gaining likes or other forms of engagement can also be associated with posting polarizing content that requires a reaction.
As a result of this pressure for likes, some users have become hungry for a safer "like-free" space, where they can interact with friends or the wider audience without trying to earn these "popularity points".
Although Facebook and Instagram could have chosen to remove likes entirely and move their social networks in a new direction, the company quickly discovered that the metric was too deeply embedded in the product experience to be removed entirely.
One of the main issues was how today´s community of influencers traded likes as a form of currency that allows them to exchange their online popularity for brand deals and business opportunities, which made removing likes an almost impossible option for these users.
Eventually the company decided to roll out the "No Likes" option as a user-controlled setting.
