Facebook has been experimenting a lot with different features and tools lately. The aim of these features is to create more engagement and encourage users to interact more. According to Jane Manchun Wong (an app researcher), Facebook is planning to hide the like counts on newsfeed posts. Previously, this was done on Instagram for experimental purposes and it seemed to work which is the reason management has now decided to experiment this feature on Facebook.
The idea behind hiding like count is still unknown, however, on launching this feature, users will no longer be able to see the like count, but the person creating the post will be able to view the like count as well as who liked the post. Experts have tried explaining that by hiding the likes count, Facebook is trying to encourage the users to rely on their gut feeling and not to be influenced by the number of likes. Also, Facebook is aiming to pull the content creators out of the anxiety of being viral. Most of the content creators only make content because they want to be famous this is the reason they try to add spice in order to make the content more interesting. This has also triggered mental health, anxiety and depression problems in social media users (though some studies also suggest the opposite).
The like count on the post itself is hidden but the engagement metrics on the comments will probably going to remain public. The main reason behind this might be the fact that this experimental feature is just in an early stage and in coming months, the company might think of applying the same rule to the comment section too. In short, because of the fact that this was formally launched on Instagram and now it Facebook has also decided to launch this explains that this feature has more pros as compared to cons.
The users, on the other hand, are not happy with this feature and they have reportedly tried to complain that this feature must be disconnected immediately. Although, it is just an experimental feature and most experimental features come and go but the experts are certain that this feature is here to stay.
Read next: Unlinking Instagram-Facebook Account Feature Is Not as Effective as Most of the Users Think
The idea behind hiding like count is still unknown, however, on launching this feature, users will no longer be able to see the like count, but the person creating the post will be able to view the like count as well as who liked the post. Experts have tried explaining that by hiding the likes count, Facebook is trying to encourage the users to rely on their gut feeling and not to be influenced by the number of likes. Also, Facebook is aiming to pull the content creators out of the anxiety of being viral. Most of the content creators only make content because they want to be famous this is the reason they try to add spice in order to make the content more interesting. This has also triggered mental health, anxiety and depression problems in social media users (though some studies also suggest the opposite).
The like count on the post itself is hidden but the engagement metrics on the comments will probably going to remain public. The main reason behind this might be the fact that this experimental feature is just in an early stage and in coming months, the company might think of applying the same rule to the comment section too. In short, because of the fact that this was formally launched on Instagram and now it Facebook has also decided to launch this explains that this feature has more pros as compared to cons.
The users, on the other hand, are not happy with this feature and they have reportedly tried to complain that this feature must be disconnected immediately. Although, it is just an experimental feature and most experimental features come and go but the experts are certain that this feature is here to stay.
Read next: Unlinking Instagram-Facebook Account Feature Is Not as Effective as Most of the Users Think
