Facebook Plans To Let Users Eliminate ‘Like’ Count

Facebook Inc has announced its plan to experiment with allowing more users to block “like” counts on their own posts or content from others, expanding an effort to gauge whether the feature intensified peer pressure, particularly among young people.

Facebook said on Wednesday that it will expand the experiment globally on Instagram in the coming weeks and explore implementing a similar opt-out test on Facebook’s main site in the future.

Several countries including Canada, Brazil, Australia, Ireland, Italy, and Japan have been used for experiment by the social network for testing hide likes on its photo-sharing app.

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Facebook said the experiment is to better understand whether eliminating like counts would reduce the pressure of posting on Instagram.

A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement that some people find it beneficial while others still wanted to see the like count.

“Some people found this beneficial, but some still wanted to see like counts so they could track what’s popular,”

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“So, we’re testing a new option that lets you decide the experience that’s best for you -- whether that’s choosing not to see like counts on anyone else’s posts, turning them off for your own posts, or keeping the original experience.”

The American technology conglomerate has been experimenting with reducing the visibility of like counts for years as it faces criticism that its platforms decrease the mental well-being of its users. For teens and young adults, follower counts and likes remain a key metric of popularity online.