Likes vs. Views: Is it Hating or Humbling?

Instagram's new feature, hiding your likes, has been used and abused by many Instagram users. Instead of having your likes displayed, you can now hide them. For whatever reason, it’s popular across many of my followers and their followers. 

When we were younger, I can remember the days of posting on Instagram, not even blinking twice at having only twelve or thirty likes. Yet now, if the likes don't match the near or close to your following, it’s more than likely that someone would hide their like count. 

 Social media used to be fun. People would post silly things, their real selves in real time, and funny videos that some may consider lame now. Everything must be an aesthetic. The coffee drink must look good from this angle, selfies must have the perfect lighting, if not filtered, and your quote has to be positive and uplifting, followed by a Bible verse. I mean, truly, everything is for show, and if your pictures aren’t post-worthy, you wouldn’t post them on your page. Apps such as Facetune, Magic Eraser, and VSCO have allowed us to have the perfect celebrity photo. Having a good picture on your Instagram has programmed us to hate posting, immediately closing the app when it's posted, or being so unfilled with the likes that we wouldn’t post at all. Adding pictures to the highlights tab has become the new normal because we didn’t get “a good photo”. 

What equates to a good photo? 

Digital pictures, editing them, and posing in front of quality aesthetic things such as a black truck, a delicious meal, the beach, flowers, or inside a nice house have influenced us to capture the Instagram-worthy shot. If the photo isn’t up to par, it wouldn’t be posted. We box ourselves in, feel inadequate, which leads to insecurities, especially when the story of views and shares do not match the likes. We subconsciously wonder:

“Was the photo ugly?”

“Is this not a good picture?”

It’s not you. You looked good. It’s societal standards and popularity. 

Many people become popular in high school because of their appearance, who they've dated, their financial status, fighting and being messy, or being the class clown. The popularity follows them after they graduate and into their adult years. If you didn’t have any status in high school, it’s more than rare to gain one after. Yet it’s normal for those selected few to have hundreds of likes because of it, for the rest, well, good luck. 

I see tweets all the time:

“I hate posting”.

“Posting gives me anxiety”.

“People follow you on Instagram and won’t like anything”. 

“My views never match my likes”. 

Most of your followers aren’t haters or trying to humble you at all. It’s their expectations. We’re all programmed to look flawless due to the media we consume. 

 Why else do you think posting “dumps” or a collage of aesthetics is popular? 

“She shouldn’t have posted that picture.”

“This would’ve been cute if…”

“Wrong shoes..”

“Her hand looks funny in this…”

“He never shows his face…”

We’re not celebrities. Most of us are regular people working regular jobs. I often think people have high expectations on social media because they’re doing the bare minimum in life. Everything feels unfilled, so using Instagram as a fake reality is proof of the delusion that life is picture-perfect. 

When we consume influencer and celebrity culture, we often imitate what’s being shown. We copy the look, poses, and Instagram captions. It looks good, I admit! Their pictures look good, their clothes are stylish, the jewelry shines, makeup and hair are stunning, and their lives look lit. We start saying, 

“I want to look like that.”

“She looks good.”

“He looks fly.”

The next thing we do is look up a replica outfit or create one that’s as fashionable, excitedly wait for the day to wear it. 

Yet, when the day comes, take pictures and post them, we’re dissatisfied with the engagement. 

Don’t become insecure because of how many likes you have. Don’t hide your beautiful and fly self because you feel like you don’t get enough interactions. The majority of people are timid to compliment or like someone’s picture they don’t know. We associate complimenting with bandwagon. Because we don’t know them, we won’t like their picture or follow them. In this generation, complimenting someone because the majority does is acceptable. Now, that’s bandwagon. 

Sometimes, I think we all forget what social media is all about—being social.

People would follow you and won’t like anything you post because they like the idea of having one more follower. They don’t necessarily need you as a follower; however, they like the idea of having several followers. If they remove you as a friend, that’s one less follower they have. Everything is all for show on social media because social media now equates to status. If you have thousands of followers, you must have thousands of dollars and friends. If you have less, you mustn’t have a lot of friends or popularity. Truth be told, the same people who have thousands of followers have accumulated those followers since they were young. Those people have been having the same Instagram for years! It’s the exact reason why people don’t delete their Instagram when taking a social media break. They fear losing those followers they’ve gained. 

“I don’t want to lose my followers.”

The same followers who don’t engage with you? Again, social media equates to your status in this new age.

My favorite thing to do is post as if no one is watching. We are so warped in this fantasy that we must not post our personality on social media because of the users who “watch”, so we hide and post to our close friends. Everyone should and needs to be themselves. 

Be loud. 

Be funny. 

Be weird. 

Be awkward. 

Be silly. 

Be vocal. 

Be talented. 

Be creative. 

Be awesome. 

Be cool. 

Be yourself! 

Don’t succumb to the need to be perfect for peers who are far from it. Embrace the beauty you were given. Embrace the life you live. Embrace normalcy. 

Does being pictured matter to you? Leave your thoughts in the comments. Like this post, and share this with someone to remind them they’re beautiful no matter what. Thank you for reading.