Goodbye Likes, Hello Mental Health! Here's What Instagram Removing 'Likes' Means For Us

It's been 10 years since Instagram's likes have been a part of our digital consciousness. And no one, including the makers of the social media platform, could ever fathom how their little heart icon would entail the power to make users feel either absolutely great or supremely worthless.

If you are getting a lot of likes on your post, it's natural that you feel you are popular and loved. But for those not getting as many likes on their posts, it can take a toll on their mental health. Because no matter how much we claim that we don't need approval from others, most of us are actively looking for external validation even if it's in the form of a 'like'.

But, now, thanks to a lot of studies and research that claim social media users can feel depressed and anxious because of insufficient likes, governments and organisations are advocating that social media platforms take responsibility. One result of that is the makers of Instagram deciding to hide likes from the platform, a long-awaited move.

CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, talked about the change while attending Wired 25, a tech symposium, in the United States. He spoke about how the intent of removing likes was to remove this external pressure that no one really needs in their already hectic life anymore.

"It's about young people. The idea is to try to make it less of a competition and give people more space to focus on connecting with people that they love, things that inspire them," Mosseri said, as reported by CNN.

And earlier this year, Instagram started to hide likes for users in seven countries, including Australia and Canada. And starting this week, users in the US will also wake up to a feed without that count of likes.

What will Instagram be without likes?

"Less anxiety, less competition to always appear perfect or be leading a life that's full of only highs," Sunaina Bambra, a 24-year-old student in Geneva told Indiatimes.

And users like Sunaina are not alone in sharing this sentiment. Even Kim Kardashian West, who boasts 151 million followers on Instagram, spoke about how hiding likes will be beneficial.

"As far as mental health [is concerned], I think taking the likes away and taking that aspect away from [Instagram] would be really beneficial for people,¡± she said during an appearance at The New York Times¡¯ DealBrook Conference. ¡°I know the Instagram team has been having a bunch of conversations with people to get everyone¡¯s take on that and they¡¯re taking it really seriously, and that makes me happy.¡±

"I was so worried about posting the perfect photo and curating the most aesthetic looking feed, that I stopped having fun. Wherever I would go, I would just think what to capture in order to let my followers know I am not a loner and actually living a fabulous life. But now, when likes will be hidden, I think I will be a little more chill," Arshya Aggarwal, a 27-year-old analyst who spends an average of three hours on Instagram per day, told Indiatimes.

But will this radical update have a positive impact on mental health?

"It's too soon to jump to conclusions as of now because the update hasn't been implemented in India," Saniya Arora, a psychiatry consultant, told Indiatimes. "But one thing is for sure, at least now people will stop judging each other on the number of likes their post has. One patient actually pointed out how people on her Instagram who are not too fond of her in real life, actually don't like her photos too. This simple observation is enough to raise self-esteem issues in people who are struggling with anxiety or depression."

While we might not have conclusive evidence yet, good content will now at least find true appreciation because now users will hopefully like a post because they really like it and not because the person posting it is popular or loved.

And for those users who think some people are living a perfect life because of their polished Instagram photos, it's never so good for anyone, and that's the thought we want to leave you with.