This blog post will explore the importance of recognition among users on social media, specifically on Instagram. Recently, Instagram ran a trial in America where they removed likes from users photos on Instagram. People were enraged over this decision which I found incredibly interesting. Instagram users need others to see how many likes they receive on their photos because that in a way shows how popular or important they are in the world. It’s not just about users being able to see how many others liked their photos, they also want everyone else to see how many likes they received. This is funny to me considering half of the people who like users accounts are fake accounts or duplicate accounts. To a certain extent, people are basing how popular or important they are according to whether fake troll accounts are liking their photos.
This also raises the importance of social media influencers who were very upset over the idea that likes would be removed from their photos. Likes are a way that people rise to the level of an influencer and people can earn a living being an influencer. In today’s social media consumed world, being an influencer is an appealing job for many because it allows you to do what you would be doing anyway: posting about your life and experiences on social media. True to their name, influencers are very influential over everyone on social media and contribute to how users behave on the media platforms. With the removal of publicly visible likes on Instagram, you ultimately remove the influence these users have.
Social media allows people to compare themselves to others almost constantly. This comparison is made largely through how many people like and comment on your photos. Social media and the internet in general have led to our society becoming obsessed with instant gratification. Removing likes from Instagram removes this current expectation of instantly being gratified and knowing how many people like your photo, and thus you as a social media user.
Alyssa Pender's Blog- Marketing 413 