Instagram will soon begin to remove how many people are liking your photos and who is liking your photos. Typically, on Instagram you can view how many likes someone receives and what exact followers liked the photo but, the company is doing away with this feature for mental health purposes. Users will still be able to see who likes their pictures but the information will be private from everyone else. Recently the company also removed the “following activity” tab which allows users more privacy as well. Famous celebrity, Kim Kardashian also agrees that for the sake of mental health this feature should be removed. ABC states that many anxiety issues have stemmed back to Instagram’s platform. The Head of Instagram also believes that many of the platform’s younger users, “experience bullying and a sense of unnecessary competition because of the likes.” So, the new outlook for Instagram he says is to, “…Make it less of a competition and give people more space to focus on connecting with people that they love, things that inspire them.” The removal of “likes” has already been tested in other countries such as Canada and Japan providing feedback on potential outcomes for removal in the U.S. The company is aware of how this may slightly affect branding with other companies but they are focused on mental health first.

I think this is a really important subject, although it may seem insignificant. I’m curious to know if Facebook or Twitter will take part in this action as well. 

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/instagram-likes-disappearing-photos-videos-us/story?id=66878288

Source: https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/lizzie-velasquez-jason-martinez-fox-29-bullying-20191007.html

Jason Martinez, a Fox 29 news anchor, decided to send a mean direct message to an anti- bullying activist on Instagram. The activists name is Lizzie Velasquez, who is an author and motivational speaker.

His direct message said: “God. That’s scary.” This was towards an Instagram post she made on a Monday. She made a post about his rude comment and stated that “he did reach out to apologize which I will always accept and offer forgiveness.” She also states that she is going to give him “the benefit of the doubt and say you didn’t mean to say this to me.” I give her credit and I am inspired by the fact that she was very mature and positive about the whole situation. I could only imagine how painful it was for her to see that message, especially on social media.

Martinez also posted on his Instagram, which was a public apology. I find it interesting that he said what he said, was there a reason for this comment? How would making a rude comment like that be “a mistake”? He mentions that it was an accident, which is really iffy and weird… people control what they do and say on social media and it just doesn’t add up on how this was an accidental comment.

People on Twitter were talking about this situation and wanted the Fox 29 anchor to be fired from the news station. It seems that many others had the same opinion as I mentioned, the situation just doesn’t add up on his behalf. His apology seems forced and either way saying that something he completely chose to do was an accident, just doesn’t make sense.

It is quite ironic and unprofessional that a news anchor would cyber bully an anti-bullying activist. I feel like it could’ve been a publicity stunt or just plain rudeness, either way he had no right to be so cruel to the young woman.

If you happen to be a frequent user of the “Following” feature Instagram offers, then you are about to receive some unfortunate news. Instagram is currently in the process of removing this feature due to users not being aware that their likes and comments are being displayed for others to see. Now, instead of users being able to view what their followers are liking and commenting on, users can only view their own activity of liking and commenting. The “Following” feature has been a part of Instagram since 2011 and throughout the years has shown to cause many issues in relationships and even jobs. However, the company claims that the removal of the feature is mainly due to inactivity. Many users took to Twitter and other webpages to discuss whether or not this was the right move for Instagram. Some people agreeing it was a bit of an invasive feature that should have been removed a while ago.

I think the removal of the feature is probably for the better, although it could come in handy if you were trying to explore what your friends like. Personally,  I hardly ever engage with the feature, Instagram could definitely use a slight update as a whole. 

Source: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/instagrams-following-activity-tab-is-going-away