Facebook might soon remove the like counter from the News Feed. It is done to protect the users from envious relationships and demotivate them from self-censorship. Instagram is already testing this feature in certain countries like Brazil and Canada, where only some names are visible to the users under their picture.
It is done so that individuals do not compare themselves to other people and feel disliked because they do not get many likes. It will also prevent people from deleting posts that do not get enough likes. When it was asked, Facebook told that they were removing their like tester soon. However, it is not available for users yet. Facebook denied sharing the results of this test.
A smartphone user shows the Facebook application on his phone in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, in this photo illustration, May 2, 2013.
Facebook Inc’s mobile advertising revenue growth gained momentum in the first three months of the year as the social network sold more ads to users on smartphones and tablets, partially offsetting higher spending which weighed on profits. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – Tags: SOCIETY SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS) – RTXZ81J
They denied to even tell when will they make it live for the users as well. If it destroys ad revenue or Facebook at large, then Facebook will withdraw this feature too. After testing it in Canada, Instagram added Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, and Japan to the test in July. In that, the user can see the total number of likes but others cannot.
It will be a good step for increasing the self-confidence of individuals although it might cause some loss to Facebook and Instagram. Facebook acts as a platform to share pictures for special events like marriages and holidays. On the other hand, Instagram and Snapchat are platforms to share updates on a daily basis.
When some famous people get too many likes, other people who get lesser likes become conscious of their self-worth. Facebook avoids situations where individuals say “Look how many likes they get. My life is lame in correlation” or “why even share if it won’t get the same number of Likes as her post and individuals will believe I’m unpopular”.
