HT Brunch Sunday Debate: As you like it

Will hiding Instagram ‘likes’ remove social pressure? A social media entrepreneur and a counsellor face off

“A creator’s engagement attracts brands”

How much and who will Instagram’s new optional feature to hide ‘likes’ impact?

By Viraj Sheth

Viraj says that since the inception of social media, people have been bombarded by different metrics of social validation

There are two sides to this. One is the consumer/creator experience aspect and the other is the creator monetisation aspect. But the Instagram feature to hide ‘likes’ will definitely help alleviate a lot of stress for creators.

Since the inception of social media, we have been bombarded by different metrics of social validation and we have used those metrics to compete with each other to feel better. This has done more harm than good. Hiding ‘likes’ is moving one step forward in changing this feeling for the better.

The creator monetisation aspect could possibly feel the ripple of this feature in a negative way. Many creators pursue their creation careers full-time and depend on brands to help monetise their reach and content. Currently, brands depend on the creator’s engagement to gauge their association with them.

If Instagram hides ‘likes’, brands won’t be able to calculate which creator to engage with. This may impact established creators, but it will certainly affect new creators whose engagement metrics may not be as well-known. While the metrics will be available to the creators at the back-end, it will be tedious for agencies to reach out to each creator for this data. Make it a feature that allows you to choose. Don’t make it a blanket rule.

Viraj Sheth, 24, is a media entrepreneur in the digital content industry. He is the co-founder at Monk Entertainment along with YouTuber and HT Brunch columnist Ranveer Allahbadia.

“One feature for mental health is not enough”

By Pattie Gonsalves

Pattie opines that just like eating a balanced diet, identifying a helpful ‘digital diet’ might be one way to try to avoid some of the negative effects of social media

By design, many social media platforms can be addictive, and their use has been associated with an increased risk of anxiety, depression, bullying, fostering negative body image, and a “fear of missing out”. The platforms are designed so that content shared has potential future rewards such as ‘likes’ by other users, resulting in a recipe for constantly checking platforms.

The recent optional Instagram feature allowing a user to hide the ‘likes’ count is helpful. But putting into place robust safeguards for the mental health of users is going to take a lot more work. Instagram is one of the best platforms today for sales. Add to this mix the ‘influencers’ who are paid by brands. What matters the most is how ‘engaged’ your followers are, and the ‘likes’ count massively.

With the merging of our social networks and e-commerce, we cannot skirt around the potential impacts of toxic or discriminatory messaging. It is crucial to demand accountability from platforms we use.

But it is too simplistic to attribute stresses to platforms like Instagram or assume new features are a panacea. This tends to divert vital discussions away from the root causes of poor mental health.

Just like eating a balanced diet, identifying a helpful ‘digital diet’ might be one way to try to avoid some of the negative effects of social media.

Pattie Gonsalves (@pattiegonsalves), 33, is a mental health researcher and advocate. She is a Project Director at Indian mental health non-profit organisation Sangath and leads their national youth mental health campaign, It’s Ok To Talk.

From HT Brunch, June 20, 2021

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