Tech Tuesday: Instagram Focusing Less on ‘Likes’

Instagram is on a mission to make its platform less competitive and a better place for users to connect.

And its plan is all about ‘likes.’

We explain what they are doing to try to improve the platform and the well-being of its users in this week’s Tech Tuesday.

Instagram is testing out a new feature aimed at getting users to focus less on ‘likes’ and more on the content shared.

Back in May, Instagram began testing a feature that would hide the number of ‘likes’ a users’ post gets.

An individual person will still be able to see the total number of ‘likes’ their posts get, but that information is hidden from everyone else.

In an interview with CBS, the company said they don’t want Instagram to be such a competition. Instead, they’d rather people spend their energy focusing on connecting with the people and posts they care about.

It’s part of a larger push by Instagram to focus on user well-being.

A found Instagram to be the worst social media network for mental health and well-being.

Instagram hasn’t expanded testing to the U.S. yet, but the feature is being tested in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand.

Unfortunately new research shows focusing too much on likes isn’t the only problem facing younger users.

that new research shows a growing number of young Instagram users are now converting their personal accounts into business accounts. This gives them more access to in-depth audience data on their post performance. While that might not seem that concerning up front, the problem is that in order to be listed as a ‘business’ on Instagram users need to provide additional contact information, such as a phone number or email address, which is then publicly displayed on their profile.

According to researchers, about 2 million Instagram users ages 12-15 currently have their phone number or email address publicly listed on the platform.