Instagram, an app we all use it at all times of the day. Most of us would not admit to being addicted to it, but we are. It’s not clear what gets us so obsessive about the social media platform, but maybe it’s the pure adrenaline rush that goes through as we receive the first 100 likes or reach a personal goal of followers. But what could happen if Instagram decided to take away the likes and the followers, leaving a simple post and profile with no display of likes or followers.

Think about it for a second. How would you react? Yes, there could be positive aspects but there are also negative aspects that could cause a frenzy causes more harm than good. Previously, when Instagram has changed their app, design users were not happy with the new changes. In February, Instagram experimented with hiding story views after the first 24 hours.  Instagram experimenting just makes users more frustrated, but are they taking it too far with their new improvement?

In late April Instagram announced that they were experimenting with hiding the number of likes on a photo and the number of views on videos in an effort to encourage users to not so much focus on the likes and views but rather on the photos that you want to post. It is common knowledge by now that scrolling through an endless line of perfect smiles and beach-ready bodies will probably not make you feel better about yourself. Instagram sets up unrealistic expectations and let’s face it, Instagram influencers don’t actually influence anything.

So, what did some of LHS’s own think of the new experiment? On my own Instagram account, I recently did a survey to see if most are for or not for the new changes. The survey showed that 32% of people voted that the changes would be a good idea, while 68% said it would be a bad idea. It seems most people think that Instagram should stay the way it is.

The idea to me seems like it could improve mental health and anxiety. If the pressure is off people to post what they wanted would Instagram look differently or could it help boost confidence levels of users while giving a less stressful experience for those who frequent the gram?