Weekly News: Facebook to Hide “Like” Count
Removing “like”, will it be a hit or a miss?
Amid testing of hidden like counts on Instagram, Facebook is now also considering the same in its main app, Social Media Today reported.
It basically works out just like Instagram, where the posts’ “Like” listing doesn’t show the full count, but an indicator of Reactions to the post and an “…and others” summary, as opposed to a full Like listing.
Why hiding “Like” count?
The idea of removing Like counts on Facebook relates to that company’s broader focus on ensuring that users are engaging in what they consider “well spent” time on their platform.
“Research shows that interacting with friends and family on social media tends to be more meaningful and can be good for our well-being, and that’s time well spent. But when we just passively consume content, that may be less true.”
— Mark Zuckerberg
The removal of public like counts are alleged to reduce social comparison and the related negative impacts.
What is social comparison?
Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others they perceive as somehow faring better or worse.
When we add social media into the mix with the social comparison theory, several negative impacts that could contribute to higher levels of anxiety and depression specifically in younger generations, have become much more serious concerns these days.
The experiment’s premise
Facebook’s experiment suggests that there were positive results from eliminating the like counts. Increasingly, the channel has been negated to a site where users infrequently post, unless a major life event occurs. The day to day of people’s lives is being more readily documented online.
By avoiding this “like envy,” people can become more comfortable in being active on the platform. A good deal of posts also consist of political or news-oriented content pieces. The company is looking to reignite the spark of connecting with friends and loved ones.
Moreover, the expansion of the program to Facebook would be a major step. Facebook’s 2.4 billion active users have most definitely made their opinions known about like count removals on Instagram, so the platform can expect to hear a lot more about the same controversy in its experiment.
Beyond that, Facebook has also become the key platform for many older, less tech-savvy users, who would no doubt be less than pleased by such a change.
Why we should care
Facebook’s move to remove its like count may not potentially have measurable impact for branded posts on the platform itself, but it could affect the brand-influencer relationship, especially in terms of how brands and advertisers evaluate which influencers they may want to collaborate with.
Influencers will have to craft more valuable content, as they are no longer able to rely on “Likes” to catch the attention of a brand. And brands will need to become more invested in the evaluation process, looking beyond how popular someone’s posts may appear to be from the number of “Likes” they receive and analyzed the overall metrics of the influencers’ channels.
Our thoughts
Social media platforms have been criticized for their negative impact on users’ mental health has sparked some platforms to reconsider the role they play. Viral Access agrees that the removal of “like” counts could potentially bring social media back into its original premise as the tool to interact with friends and family in a meaningful way. This experiment could move beyond Facebook and Instagram and into other mainstream social media platforms such as Twitter as well.
At the same time, without the like counts, social influencers on Facebook could potentially see less engagement and decreased ad spend, which could affect their relationships with brands. However, ultimately, this move will only trigger a fundamental shift where influencers will be forced to return to their roots as ‘content creators’ and utilize their creativity and authenticity to stay relevant to their audience.
(Read more, influencer marketing trend for 2020 here.)
What do you think of Facebook’s decision to remove the like counts?
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