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I'm not 100% sure whether I understand the reasoning behind this. "Hiding Like counts could reduce herd mentality, where people just Like what’s already got to

I'm not 100% sure whether I understand the reasoning behind this. "Hiding Like counts could reduce herd mentality, where people just Like what’s already got tons of Likes." "Hiding Like counts might get users posting more since they’ll be less self-conscious." "Narcissism, envy spiraling, and low self-image can all stem from staring at Like counts." Are there any sources for these claims? And are they the expressed reasons for this?

wongmjane 8y ago
That's just the journalist's take on the feature. In Instagram's app itself, the feature is elaborated as follow: > We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shared a post will see the total number of likes it gets. source tweet: https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1118970853654290432 https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1118970853654290432 Instagram then stated to the press they are: > exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram is something we’re always thinking about
- twiss 8y ago
  It's also possible that they're experimenting with this in anticipation of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19665221 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19665221 (a proposed ban on likes for children).
aiyodev 8y ago
Plenty of sources out there on network theory and information cascades.
AGoodName 8y ago
We're on a site right now that hides like counts for these reasons :D https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2595605 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2595605
- chrisco255 8y ago
  I'm glad they stuck with hiding the like counts.
- baby 8y ago
  Oh wow, that's really on point. I'd be cool if the front page would be like that as well for a week to see how it would be different. (pg if you're seeing this.)
  - pjc50 8y ago
    The sort order for the frontpage is already determined by a secret score that is only partly related to upvotes.
bukka 8y ago
Maybe I'm the minority, but seeing a post with a ton of likes will discourage me from liking it. One like has no impact among thousands. Same reason I don't upvote posts on the front page, they already made it there so why bother upvoting.
- aiyodev 7y ago
  Only the first few votes give any kind of information. If you’re waiting to vote, it doesn’t matter if you’re voting with the crowd or against it. Your vote is meaningless after the cascade has started.

wongmjane 8y ago

That's just the journalist's take on the feature. In Instagram's app itself, the feature is elaborated as follow: > We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shared a post will see the total number of likes it gets. source tweet: https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1118970853654290432 https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1118970853654290432 Instagram then stated to the press they are: > exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram is something we’re always thinking about

twiss 8y ago
It's also possible that they're experimenting with this in anticipation of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19665221 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19665221 (a proposed ban on likes for children).

aiyodev 8y ago

Plenty of sources out there on network theory and information cascades.

AGoodName 8y ago

We're on a site right now that hides like counts for these reasons :D https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2595605 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2595605

chrisco255 8y ago
I'm glad they stuck with hiding the like counts.
baby 8y ago
Oh wow, that's really on point. I'd be cool if the front page would be like that as well for a week to see how it would be different. (pg if you're seeing this.)
- pjc50 8y ago
  The sort order for the frontpage is already determined by a secret score that is only partly related to upvotes.

bukka 8y ago

Maybe I'm the minority, but seeing a post with a ton of likes will discourage me from liking it. One like has no impact among thousands. Same reason I don't upvote posts on the front page, they already made it there so why bother upvoting.

aiyodev 7y ago
Only the first few votes give any kind of information. If you’re waiting to vote, it doesn’t matter if you’re voting with the crowd or against it. Your vote is meaningless after the cascade has started.