Saw another post about FB on here and it got me thinking. Saw an article recently and apparently FB is running some limited trials where “likes” on your post are private - that is only YOU can see the total number of likes a specific post you make receives. Under this system, your friends would only see comments and perhaps a message that “random person X likes this post”, rather than a specific number of likes. That’s only visible to you.
This is not a new concept. I don’t use Instagram but have heard it’s more similar to this. Similarly the Chinese social media app giant Weixin (in English known as WeChat, and a company which FB has been known to look to for new ideas) also functions like this, ie: I see my total likes, whereas my friends only see likes my post received from mutual friends. The total number is only visible to the OP.
Apparently, FB is considering it as a way to relieve pressure and competitiveness on school kids, as well as putting the emphasis more on free communication without worrying about what post will get 50 likes and what doesn’t. There would likely be opposition to the idea from those who use FB for business/promotion and trend setters/“influencers”
Personally, I think it’s a great idea. Nobody likes putting a good honest rant out there and then getting zero or little feedback, public to all, as it can make you feel like a plonker. Similarly, it would take out the competitive edge away from young people which can only be a good thing and would help ease social media created anxiety. The fact that WeChat has 1 billion users happily using such a system suggests that commercially it would be fine as well (after people get used to the idea). It would lead to better more open sharing rather than posts being limited to what might appeal to a broad and disparate mass of people (usually baby photos, holidays, and motivational screenshots!). I’ve always hated this aspect of FB, i don’t want my post to be publicly rated via “Likes”, but if it has to be then it should be private.