Instagram No Likes Redesign

It’s been announced Instagram is considering and testing the removal of one of its visual feedback, the count of likes on a post. Very similar to how Instagram and Snapchat stories operates.

One of the many reasons for this somewhat radical move from Instagram is to reduce the user’s focus on how many likes a post gets and instead direct the user’s attention to the actual post.

For good reasons too, many users may feel the social impact of posting a picture they feel may not be perfect. They may feel their post is not receiving the attention and reactions they were hoping for through likes, therefore, they do not even bother to post altogether. Or maybe some users feel the overwhelming pressure of having to constantly deliver the best photo to stay relevant. Either way, this could both have an impact on the user’s mental state. And this could put people off sharing altogether. Instagram is desperately trying to break such behaviour.

Because it’s obvious, we humans like to share. We like to share things that make us happy. We like to share things we find funny. We like to share things we find important and interesting. We share things to spread awareness of our intention and to see other people’s reactions. And sharing on social media platforms like Instagram is asking for a form of public validation and confirmation from others. And without explicitly saying it, we are asking “do you also see and appreciate what I see and appreciate too.” Or “did I get it wrong, is there a misinterpretation or misrepresentation with what I just shared.” For example, politics can be ambiguous in terms of how people interpret a message. But sharing a point of view gives others your perspective and allowing others to share theirs. The power of sharing.

Therefore, based on a user’s personal metrics, high like could mean a lot of people agree and appreciate with what has been shared. Low likes could mean, not many people appreciate or share the same interest. And if low like counts are constant, it’s easy to see how one’s mental health could be affected.

That’s why with this move, Instagram will be removing the public validation in the form of like counts. Removing the fear of sharing on a public platform. Encourage users to post that not so perfect picture or their own subjective opinion on a matter.

Could this redesign solve all the problems, maybe not all. Fortunately or unfortunately users will still have access to their own like count and comment engagement. And under a post, it will mention if the picture as been liked by over a thousand people or less than a thousand people. Leaving the incentive for people to still buy likes.

But I do believe it would help reduce the problem.

Another interesting question is, would this change the behaviour of users liking posts altogether since it doesn’t show? Well, when watching Instagram videos, the number of likes are not shown, only the views. And depending on the Instagram video, it still achieves likes. Therefore it shouldn’t change the behaviour too much. However, maybe the feedback design which demonstrates when a user likes a post (pink heart across the post) should be more engaging. For example, if you like a picture and see a flame or icon, It means others within that same hour or minute also liked the photo too. The simple purpose is to recreate a greater incentive for users to not just scroll past a post without liking because the like count are not shown. Paradox.

So this is not a job done, but an effort to change things for the better which should be praised.

However what about the influencers and creators.

Many feel their status and value on the digital platform comes from likes and followers. More likes mean more engagement, therefore more sponsorship. Likes counts also indicate to other scrolling users and sponsors that this person is popular and has high engagement.

Taking such resources away could spell trouble. However, influencers will still have their followers count visible. And users can easily share their analytical data to sponsor and ad agencies, so not completely breaking the system.

An alternative system has been suggested by some users who are not happy with hidden like counts on Instagram. Giving users the choice to hide their own likes. For me, this would defeat the purpose altogether. Reason being that this would be an indication to other users that hiding your like count means you get low likes. And the opposite effect, showing your like count is a user showing off, vanity, etc. Unpredictable how that would turn out so that path should not be taken.

Can social media really survive without this form of gamification and validation though?

Here a redesign proposal that was not created with the same incentive as Instagram. (Trying to reduce social pressure.) My intention was to try and create a new form of interaction and engagement on Instagram. A new form of metric that could convey excitement, engagement, curiosity, and interest.

I will try to explain this design in simple terms.

Similarly to Instagram’s hidden like policy, this basic design also does not show like count. However, it will show seconds/views, I will explain. Also, pay attention to the account’s username at the top right corner (Napapijri) which is currently blank.

Let say a user called Hannah is scrolling within Instagram, this is what she will see above. Just the post and comments.

However, if Hannah stays on that post for more than 2 seconds, she will then see the username (Napapijri) change from blank to light yellow with a ‘seconds count’ by its side demonstrated below.

1 second equals a colour change. Meaning if Hannah has spent 1–2 seconds looking at the photo, the username will change light yellow. (Although Blank/gray to light yellow along with view count would only display once Hannah stays for at least 2 seconds.)

Here is a dark yellow username change with a lower ‘seconds count.’ Why is it lower you may ask? Because users like Hannah may not have stayed on the post that long. scrolling away after 3 seconds. A metric on retention and engagement.

And the longer Hannah looks at that photo, the more Hannah will see more colour changes. The seconds count in total represents how many other users viewed and stayed throughout the colour changes limited only to 6 seconds per users. (6 colour changes) A user will only be able to see the count by also contributing to the seconds/views. so unlike, like counts where you can see someone’s post and just scroll on by. With this design, if you saw a colour change, you contributed with your engagement.

The colour stages are.. Blank. Light yellow. Dark yellow. Light orange. Dark orange. Finally Red.

Only up to red, 6 seconds is the limit per user. If Hannah scrolls away from a photo after looking at it for 5 seconds (dark Orange) and then returns back to that photo, it will continue from 5 seconds (dark Orange.) It will not reset or add any additional view count beyond 6 seconds.

( Video would obviously be a different format.)

0 is grey

2 is light yellow

3 is dark yellow

4 is light orange

5 is dark orange

6 is red

Once red shows and the users have looked and engaged with the post for 6 seconds, the creator of the post can implement a small caption to further increase engagement.

This could say.

.Thanks for staying.

.What you looking at.

.I appreciate the support.

.The price is…

.You’re still here.

.True fan.

.Hater or Lover.

.Buy now.

.The answer is…

Etc.

Or, a creator of a post could add a continuation from the actual main caption under the post. Example

More example, Main caption “You want to know who standing next to me in this photo” …. 6 seconds later Top caption “my cousin from Spain.” Another example. Main caption “I really enjoyed the Joker film, I give it a rating of”…. 6 seconds later Top caption “9.1”

This adds an element of curiosity, suspense, surprise, and anticipation. Giving other users the incentive to stay.

Creators and users will have to find creative ways of increasing engagement.

Each colour change represents 1 second after light yellow. However, it takes other colours to get there as you know.

A user with 12k followers could have 6001 seconds on light yellow, but only 100 seconds on dark red because only a few users stayed throughout all the colour changes to 6 seconds.

While a causal user who has 900 close friends/followers may get 600 seconds on light yellow for their post, and 220 on red. Engagement and how followers interact with a user will vary.

The digital evolution of how people start movements and pay their respect as changed through social media. What if when users would like to pay respect towards a meaningful post, for example the death of a public figure. Staying the full 6 seconds on a post to the final stage Red colour change demonstrates an element of respect. Maybe Ridiculous. Nevertheless a new form beyond just liking a post. There are many avenues such a design can go.

Of course, who view your post would be anonymous like video views on Instagram.

I hope i explained with some clarity.

Finding new ways of increasing engagement in the digital world will not end anytime soon, it's good to explore other ways on how that can be achieved.

A video.