Why Instagram Hiding “Likes” Is A Necessary But Almost Too Late Gesture

Social media platforms have held a steady grip on our consciousness for over a decade, which is more than enough time for users to decide the consequences of uninterrupted engagement.

Facebook was the first foray into the unknown that lasted for about six years before the charm was replaced with a bitterness that raised the antlers of suspicion as it pertains to the authenticity of being social with “friends” that eventually blend into the landscape of blurriness.

It was incredibly empowering to possess the ability of effortlessly reviving connections that had gathered dust from the limitations that made it impossible to keep in touch with contacts situated abroad.

Once those challenges were replaced with the purposed clicks that led to the vibrant scrapbooks that detailed the missing years up to the present, that was when the magic was supposed to begin. But there was the gradual realization of how fighting for attention based on the weaponry of glaring popularity can reduce users to slaves of a systemic virus that turns “friends” into an army of strangers.

The over-crowded field of attention seekers became a suffocating game that left me feeling out of my element and disheartened by the discovery of how those connections weren’t as real as they seem when you log in and embrace the notifications that provide the maddening reminders of potential contenders for “friendships.”

After shutting down my Facebook page, which proved to be trickier than I initially imagined, the immediate sigh of relief left me feeling much lighter and happier. It was like regaining control of what I didn’t know I needed until it was taken away. And of course, most of the ‘friends” that I engaged with aren’t visible in the ways that matter.

But it wouldn’t be fair to relieve myself of any of the blame since I could’ve made the attempt to reach out via email or mobile, but clearly that desire to maintain those connections is really embedded in the new normal of posting updates for revelers and maybe hosting direct messages on those occasions that warrant the privacy.

The point is that social media was a supremely welcomed life-changer with tons of benefits that for this Gen-Xer…