While the official announcement goes so far, the experiment of hiding reactions is nothing new.Search Engine Journal
The
like I
spend into the background.
Facebook and Instagram have announced that they will allow their 3,900 million added users to eliminate the counts of
likes
in their publications on both platforms, with which one of the pillars of social networks will be deactivated in the accounts that they wish and the counts of interactions on all posts
in the users'
feed
will be hidden.
“Changing the way people view accounts is a big change (…) What each person wants on Instagram is different, as people's needs vary.
We have been working closely with external experts to better understand how to empower people, develop self-awareness and shape a more positive experience on our platforms, ”reads the statement released a few days ago by Facebook, Inc.
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The official announcement comes so far, but the idea of hiding the reactions is nothing new.
In fact, Facebook and Instagram have been testing this feature since early 2019, with select users experimenting with social media without the "like" counter.
Now, two years later, the experiment has left the social labs and lands on both platforms and available to everyone from businesses to individuals to influencers.
“We've been testing
hidden Instagram
like
counts
for a while.
Now, we
announce that all Instagram and Facebook users will have the option to hide their counts
likes
public ,
"the company said in a statement.
Step by step to hide the
likes
Hiding
like
counts
across all posts is straightforward.
Both platforms also offer the ability to hide
like
counts on
users' own posts, so that others cannot see how many reactions of this style their posts or those of others get.
"In this way, if desired, [the user] can focus on the photos and videos that are shared, instead of on the number of
likes
that the publications receive," they explain from Facebook.
Here the step by step:
From Instagram:
Go to
Settings
(or
Settings
, in English)
Press "Publications" (or
Posts
, in English).
If you can't find this option, write
posts
in the search bar.
Select the option
Hide Like Counts
and Views
(or
Hide Like Counts
, in English)
Then, if you want to
disable the account
I like
for your own publications, see
Publication
(or
New Post
, in English)
Go to
Advanced Settings
(or
Advanced Settings
, in English)
Tap the
Hide likes and views
for this post
option
.
From Facebook:
Go to
Settings and Privacy
(or
Settings & Privacy
, in English) of your account.
Go to
Settings
(or
Settings
, in English)
Go to
Reaction Counts
(or,
Reaction Counts
, in English) and activate or deactivate the option, it depends what you want.
I like ... your mental health
If in the last decade the culture of
likes
has only grown, strengthened and generated benefits for individuals and companies that use social networks, how beneficial will it be to deactivate one of the main tools of the networks? “What we heard from people and experts was that not seeing similar counts [the number of
likes
on a post] was beneficial for some and annoying for others, particularly as people use similar counts to get an idea of what it is. trend or popular ”, they explain from Facebook in a statement and add that for that reason, the deactivation of the count of
likes
is voluntary and free.
But hiding
likes
is also related to a vital issue like addiction and mental health. Multiple studies, such as the
Social Media Use and Its Impact on Relationships and Emotions study
published by Brigham Young University or
Online Social Networking and Addiction
published by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, have tried to show that people, in particular Younger generations - such as
centennials
and
millennials
- who use these apps are experiencing negative mental health effects that are rooted in the “toxic ecosystem” of social media.
The initiative has been taken by Facebook, but according to sources in the environment, other social networks such as Twitter and TikTok could soon join the campaign to hide the reactions, although there is still no official confirmation.
Twitter, for example, has been experimenting with the way its users react to posts on the platform.
A few days ago, a project developed by the company was leaked to include other options for reactions to tweets.
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