avatarClaire Freimark

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1979

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e day, looking at a post on my partner’s phone, I noticed that he was able to see the number of likes. Mortified, I scrambled to find a reason, and learned that Instagram had given users the ability to <a href="https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/facebook-and-instagram-now-let-you-hide-likes-heres-how-to-do-it/">turn on or off likes at their choosing</a>.</p><p id="3c43">I kept my likes hidden, went through all of my old posts, and individually hid their likes from others. Having done this intentionally changed my outlook on posting to Instagram completely. I started viewing it as a bit of a diary, a collection of my favorite moments and happy memories. It helps that my partner and I had recently moved to Southern California, and I suddenly had a lot more pictures to share.</p><p id="63ac">In the last year, I’ve posted 17 photos. Still not a ton, but far more than I’ve ever posted before. I have no idea how many likes I get, and when my partner laments about a post performing poorly, I’m happy that I simply don’t care. Hiding likes on Instagram has been freeing and allows me to use the app in a way that improves my life rather than introducing unneeded stress into it. I know there’s been a movement to get away from the polished aesthetic of Instagram, either by “<a href="https://www.lsureveille.com/opinion/opinion-we-should-actually-make-instagram-casual-again/article_77267444-5098-11ec-a6a6-2b7c817e812e.html">making Instagram casual again</a>” or <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/people-who-deleted-social-media_l_606b4d0cc5b66c4ab6b585eb/amp">deleting the app</a> altogether. While I wouldn’t say my Instagram is <i>totally</i> casual (and I certainly haven’t deleted it), I think hiding likes is a step in the right direction. If you’ve ever considered it, I encourage you to give it a try and see the difference it can make.</p><p id="a506"><b>Did you enjoy this article? Follow me for more! Support me and my Medium journey by signing up for

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LIFE LESSONS

Hiding Likes on Instagram Improved My Mental Health

Why I hid them, and why I never looked back

Enoc vt, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

I’ve had Instagram for a decade, give or take. It’s long been my favorite, and at times only, social media (I could never get into Twitter, and I despise Snapchat). However, over the years, I found that Instagram was becoming more and more stressful.

I would compare myself, not necessarily to beautiful and retouched celebrities flaunting their immaculate lives, but to my peers. Friends who somehow had thousands of followers and hundreds of likes on each post, acting like they were influencers themselves. I reached an equilibrium of about 200 followers, which I was happy with (I don’t even think I know 1,000 people!). However, that didn’t stop me from being disappointed by the number of likes my posts would get. I fell into the habit of deleting posts that didn’t get “enough” likes, embarrassed to be essentially posting into a void. Eventually, I stopped posting altogether.

In 2019, Instagram started hiding likes. Opening the app and not being bombarded with the feeling that everyone was more popular, more well-liked than me, I started posting again. Was it a lot? No, I only posted eight times over the next year, though I didn’t have a terrible photogenic life. However, I was no longer spending hours taking, choosing, and editing a photo, or obsessing over the perfect caption. I just didn’t care — I knew that no one could judge me for the number of likes I got, and I didn’t care enough to check myself. It was bliss.

One day, looking at a post on my partner’s phone, I noticed that he was able to see the number of likes. Mortified, I scrambled to find a reason, and learned that Instagram had given users the ability to turn on or off likes at their choosing.

I kept my likes hidden, went through all of my old posts, and individually hid their likes from others. Having done this intentionally changed my outlook on posting to Instagram completely. I started viewing it as a bit of a diary, a collection of my favorite moments and happy memories. It helps that my partner and I had recently moved to Southern California, and I suddenly had a lot more pictures to share.

In the last year, I’ve posted 17 photos. Still not a ton, but far more than I’ve ever posted before. I have no idea how many likes I get, and when my partner laments about a post performing poorly, I’m happy that I simply don’t care. Hiding likes on Instagram has been freeing and allows me to use the app in a way that improves my life rather than introducing unneeded stress into it. I know there’s been a movement to get away from the polished aesthetic of Instagram, either by “making Instagram casual again” or deleting the app altogether. While I wouldn’t say my Instagram is totally casual (and I certainly haven’t deleted it), I think hiding likes is a step in the right direction. If you’ve ever considered it, I encourage you to give it a try and see the difference it can make.

Did you enjoy this article? Follow me for more! Support me and my Medium journey by signing up for a membership!

Also, check out some of my other articles below!

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