Instagram stories - why watch & not like?

[FreshDoughDaily]

So, I posted a photo of DS playing his sport. It was taken by DD. Both of them & DH play this sport at international level. It was taken for the purpose of DS sharing it and tagging his sponsorship company. An agreement of being sponsored is to share a number of social media posts advertising their products. I posted it because I thought it was a great photo. I tagged DS & acknowledged DD had taken it.

My story has been watched/viewed by 66 people apparently including family members with three likes. So either I'm boring, not interesting or absolutely nobody gives a sh1t?

Just wondering what the point of stories are? Or (reflecting as I'm typing) am I seeking validation through social media?

YABU - post for you, don't expect anyone else to 'like'

YANBU - they are nosy feckers with no real interest in your life

I thought watching was akin to liking. If I don’t think something would be of interest to me I don’t watch. But I don’t click ‘like’ when I’m finished. You can tell I’ve watched it, so there’s the engagement.

I’ve never liked an Instagram story, I just kind of flick through them. It just doesn’t cross my mind to?

People are so quick to scroll these days, even stopping to like a story is taking up too much of their time. I guess you get more
likes on static posts. It’s just that I think. I came off all SM and feel happier for it.

Is that your first post on Instagram? I would say it’s unusual for people to ‘like’ stories unless it’s something particularly significant. People just tend to scroll on by. A picture of your child playing sport may be interesting to you but not particularly interesting to an acquaintance. It doesn’t mean they think you’re boring though, you’re over thinking it.

If you care this much to count the number of views your post has and then compare that how many people validated you liked the photo, then you're probably not in the right headspace for social media.

Why do you care so much if people click a like button on something you post, to the point that you have created a mumsnet post about it?

Kindly, it does not matter!

Also - clicking a like button is not validation,even if that's what our ill-prepared brains think it is. It's lazy as hell to just tap a finger on screen and doesn't mean shit.

This is what worries you in life?

Dear me

My brain is still quite 20th century at times. I personally find stories quick fire and my brain is focused on the content. I often don't process fast enough to think to press a button before it's onto the next one. Plus I hardly ever read Instagram anyway.

When you watch stories, one runs into another. I didn’t choose to view it, particularly,

I rarely like IG stories. Especially ones that have been posted for likes, eg people advertising etc

I don’t know how to find stories 🤣

I don't think I've ever liked a story. I just scroll through them. I do like ordinary posts though, assuming I find it interesting, although never ones advertising products.

Currently at 72 votes and 100% YABU.
You have your answer op.

Mmm... Let me think. Maybe, just maybe, it's because they didn't bloody like them??? D'oh!

I genuinely didn’t know you could like an insta story.. that could be part of your answer right there!!

I never like on stories/reels. The motion to like it is too close to the pause function. If I watched it then I was enjoying it enough not to click away.

I think I've probably 'liked' about three Instagram stories out of the hundreds I've seen and they would have been for very significant life events. Most of the time I forget to 'like' them, but that doesn't mean I don't. I admit I've never given it much thought. I have friends/work colleagues that post stories/posts every day - whilst they're nice to see, I'm highly unlikely to worry about whether I've hit like on them. I'm far more likely to say "Ooh, they were lovely pics from your holiday/of your DD/hobby" when I speak to them in real life.

The answer was obvious within 5 minutes of the post being published.
Lots of interaction this Sunday morning! 😊

Stories are very speedy to tap through and I only like the odd one. Also, doesn't it put a heart in your DMs with that person which always seemed a bit spammy. That's how it shows to the liker.

Don't forget too that lots of your friends' content that they watch will be from non-friends in real life. It's not a small personal space any more. I miss when social media was actually social!

I like some, if it’s a big event or particularly significant I’ll just click the heart. It’s no big deal.

I never expect likes on my stories, when i get them it’s usually family, or one of my friends giving a laugh emoji for a meme that’s relatable to them.

Interesting. I never like Instagram stories and I spend far to much time watching them but will like TikToks as I can then find it again (if funny, or useful).

People are just scrolling through their stories OP… you sound like you need a break from social media!

I’ve never clicked ‘like’, just wouldn’t occur to me

Something like this I would ask family and friends to like.

If I watch a close friend story or try and remember to like or comment but often just forgot

90% of my instagram feed is people indint know in real life.

I think you’re being too sensitive about this.

"Like" clicks tell the algorithms "show me more like this" - other than the kid's grandparents and aunties, no one wants to be shown more like that.

If the sponsorship deal doesn't set you a target number of "like" clicks, don't worry about it.