Is This the End of Instagram Likes?
Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t like you! He wants to change the world by pushing a digital currency and pulling a social currency. Instagram likes could soon be a thing of the past, which is eyebrow-raising news for Facebook investors banking on the platform!
Many users worldwide are now undergoing an Instagram pilot for a drastic strategy change. Double-tapping is still possible, but only posters can see a tally of total likes. Engagement measures visible to outsiders are comments, and a list of every liked user that, probably, nobody will be bothered to count. This is big news for investors exposed to tech. Instagram is not just Facebook’s subsidiary, but also its likely successor in terms of growth.ย
If likes are invisible, more eyes will land on the follower number that a page has. That could mean underrated influencers with engaging posts, struggling to attract brands and sponsors. The next fake ‘Instaglam’ models would have a hard time displacing the Kardashians, leading to a stagnated platform leaving not only them out of pocket, but marketers, and therefore Facebook investors! Social proof is an essential sales tool, and now advertisers are facing life without it.
However, there may be some method to this madness. Are egotistic Instagram likes doing the world any good? Certainly not our mental health! Last year, #DeleteFacebook did the rounds as millions protested the dopamine-dominated brainwashing of the idle-minded teenage demographic. It hurt the Facebook stock for a while, and now with switching costs virtually non-existent across social media, Facebook risks its users going elsewhere for social validation on a more permanent basis. A change this bold could be precisely what Facebook brand needs to get users back onside, and bold it is!