Instagram –the Facebook-owned company had hinted on its new feature that hides the number of likes on posts back in May. The feature has been under testing only in Canada for the past two months and is now expanding to more countries. Yesterday, the company announced expansion plans into more countries, including Ireland, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.
Breaking the news, the company stated on Twitter that they “want your friends to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.”
The company also reveals that the new feature, however, won’t restrict the owner from viewing the number of likes his/her post receives.
“You can still see your own likes by tapping on the list of people who’ve liked it, but your friends will not be able to see how many likes your post has received.”
This is part of the big plan to curb the pressure on young people which previous research has revealed Instagram as one of the most detrimental platforms for their mental health.
But can the new feature really solve this problem? Not at all.
According to Renee Engeln, a psychology professor, the major problem with Instagram is tied to the content. He states that the “constant stream of perfected images is what seems to hurt psychologically.” Digging deep into the comments on Instagram’s announcement on expansion plans, users seem like they don’t like the feature at all.
Many users flooded the comment section criticizing the feature stating that it was uncalled for. But some users have also penned down their interest in having a chronological order of posts on the platform which has been lacking.
