Digital Smarts - Instagram Test Hides Likes, Considers Mental Health

The Associated Press reports that Instagram is expanding a pilot program that started in Canada, masking "likes" to users. The test is a response to mental health concerns regarding the way people feel when viewing the engagement on other people’s profiles. People can still see how many people liked their own photos, but won’t see counts for other people’s posts. Critics say that such counts hurt mental health and make people feel bad when comparing themselves to others. One group that may be affected is Instagram “influencers,” the major, minor or micro celebrities who use social media to market products and otherwise influence their hordes of followers. The program is expanding to users in Ireland, Italy, Japan, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand.