Since its inception in 2010, Instagram has been on the rise every year. Users are attracted to the app because it is centered around visual content and is available through mobile devices. Gamification tactics like likes and comments are + used on Instagram to keep users coming back.
In 2011 they introduced the like button, which brought social validation to the platform. Publicly signaling your approval of someone’s post became suddenly possible. It changed people’s motivations. Instead of content they liked, users started to tailor their content to chase likes. And popularity came to be measured in the number of Likes.
The FOMO Effect
FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” refers to the apprehension that people feel that others might be having more rewarding experiences. FOMO drives many to check social media compulsively and to compare themselves to others constantly.
On Instagram specifically, the FOMO effect stems from the perceived social pressure around likes. When users see their peers receiving tons of likes on their posts while their posts get little engagement, it can trigger anxiety. They feel left out, inferior, or like they don’t fit in. Some even turn to strategies like buying cheap IG likes to boost their engagement and alleviate the feeling of being left behind.
Teenagers are especially vulnerable as their sense of self is still developing. A study by the Royal Society for Public Health ranked Instagram the worst platform for affecting young people’s mental health due to this pressure to win approval through likes.
Perpetuating Appearance Ideals for Likes
The social pressures surrounding Instagram damage self-esteem and promote unhealthy ideals of appearance. Instagram has long been criticized for its proliferating filters and editing apps, which enable the spread of unrealistic beauty standards.
In hopes of gaining more likes and followers, people edit their photos to get closer to conventional beauty norms. They may also emulate the appearance of popular influencers by manipulating their images to have similar facial features, body types, flawless skin, etc.
Trying to alter one’s appearance to win likes can be psychologically and physically damaging. It also spreads unrealistic stereotypes, further creating feelings of inadequacy among those who don’t fit narrow beauty standards.
Strategic Self-Presentation for Likes
To gain more likes, people engage in strategic self-presentation, purposefully showing only the most flattering, carefully curated snippets of their lives. They post extravagant vacations, parties with friends, and flawless selfies, yet these are often more aspirational than reality.
These manicured feeds pressure people to turn their lives into photo shoots. Behind the scenes, people stage photos to give off a “perfect” life, which their peers then compare themselves against.
Seeing such glamorized content triggers envy and a desire to present an equally impressive lifestyle. This fuels excessive consumerism and partying as people try purchasing experiences solely for bragging rights online.
Social Media Addiction & Information Overload
The pressures of Instagram likes can lead to social media addiction for some, compulsively chasing external validation. The dopamine hits from likes and comments trigger the brain’s reward pathway. So, users continually check notifications, hoping to recreate the same high.
Additionally, the endless stream of information overload takes a mental toll. People are constantly bombarded with filtered versions of their peers’ lives, influencers’ promotions, and curated content algorithms. Yet they feel compelled to keep up because they fear missing out.
This constant information overload, paired with comparison against others, makes it difficult for people to be present. It also contributes to anxiety, depression, and loneliness, as people substitute real relationships for superficial online connections.
Seeking Fulfillment Beyond Likes
While social platforms offer opportunities for the community, the pressures tied to Instagram likes to reveal troubling social implications. The perpetual feedback loop of comparing one’s worth based on online approval is neither healthy nor fulfilling in the long term.
Rather than seeking external validation through likes, people could focus inward on growth, self-acceptance, and purpose. Enriching real-world connections can also combat feelings of isolation or inadequacy.
Additionally, reevaluating one’s social media use by setting limits and taking breaks can help mitigate excessive comparison and information overload. By being more mindful, people can harness social platforms for good while minimizing damaging psychological effects.
Overall, addressing the root insecurities that fuel this dependence on likes is crucial for empowering people. With more conscientious social media norms and practices, perhaps networks like Instagram can spread inspiration rather than anxiety.
The Psychology Behind Social Media Likes
Social media likes on platforms like Instagram have become embedded into modern life as metrics for popularity. But what drives the human fascination with likes? Understanding the psychology behind likes can illuminate this compulsion.
Social Validation
Humans have an intrinsic need to feel accepted and valued within social groups for health and belonging. Social media taps into this need with features like likes that provide external validation from peers.
Receiving likes triggers a rush of dopamine in the brain, making people feel acknowledged, approved, and popular. In evolutionary terms, this feeling of acceptance increases chances for survival.
Likes also provide instant gratification, unlike money or relationships, which require more investment. This makes online interactions uniquely rewarding despite being superficial.
Social Comparison
According to social comparison theory, people self-evaluate by comparing themselves to others to gauge norms. On Instagram, people use likes as the benchmark for comparison.
Users carefully analyze how many likes peers’ posts receive to estimate where they fall in the social hierarchy. Those with more likes seem more popular and enviable. Those with few likes feel inadequate and excluded.
This comparison drives competition for status and fuels aspirations to present an equally impressive or enviable lifestyle online. The resulting showmanship produces the idealized feeds that Instagram is known for.
Feedback Loops
On Instagram, notifications and metrics create feedback loops that drive further usage. When a post is liked, a user receives a notification prompting them to re-engage with the app.
Seeing the accumulating like count also compels people to check repeatedly. This motivates maintaining frequent posting to continue driving engagement, comments and likes.
Essentially, likes to breed more likes, while Instagram’s algorithms learn to provide more content that people engage with through likes. This keeps users coming back to fulfill cravings for validation.
Gamification
Social media platforms utilize gamification-building engagement techniques in apps like scoring systems and competitions. The race for likes borrows elements from video games with levels, rewards, and positive reinforcement.
When posts gain likes, the brain releases dopamine, making the experience pleasurable. To recreate this feeling, users continually seek likes to achieve ‘high scores’.
Platforms tap into similar motivations that make games addictively engaging. While games provide mental stimulation, social media gamification can negatively impact mental health.
The Detrimental Impacts of Linking Self-Worth to Likes
Chasing Instagram likes can take a serious toll on mental and emotional well-being. As external validation forms the basis of people’s self-worth, self-criticism, anxiety, and depression often follow. Understanding the psychology behind this phenomenon is key to mitigating its harmful impacts.
Diminished Self-Esteem
Measuring self-worth by social media metrics like likes means judging oneself by ultimately arbitrary standards. When people post but don’t get expected engagement, they begin questioning their worth.
People assess their content based on engagement analytics rather than liking a post because they find it interesting or beautiful. Not getting enough positive feedback leads to negative self-assessment.
This diminished self-esteem stems from determining one’s value through comparisons on Instagram feeds. Photos depicting luxury vacations or perfect bodies make young users feel inadequate.
Loss of Autonomy
The more Instagram likes become synonymous with self-worth, the more people lose control over their own self-image. They can’t form opinions of themselves anymore, they need to rely on metrics and other’s judgments.
As a result, they disconnect from their interests, values and self-perception. Without self independence, filling oneself up is hard, but when we base self worth on external validation, that independence is eroded.
What people essentially do is give others and algorithms power to shape how they feel about themselves based on engagement analytics. It is disempowering, and it is mentally taxing.
Anxiety & Depression
The ongoing pressure to rack up likes can significantly contribute to soaring rates of anxiety and depression seen in recent years. Young people, in particular, struggle with destructive thought patterns.
When posts fail to gain validation, insecure thoughts often spiral – “No one likes me”, “I’m ugly/boring/untalented”, or “I don’t deserve friends”. These unhealthy mental scripts corrode self-confidence, causing distress.
Even for those who succeed in gaining popularity, maintaining popularity is precarious. The constant pressure to perform publicly leads to chronic stress, which can be physically and mentally draining.
Social Isolation
Ironically, chasing Instagram likes often leaves people feeling dissatisfied, alienated, and lonely despite having hundreds of online connections.
Likes superficially validate you, but don’t go anywhere at work or in the real world. Substituting real relationships with online contact can also, over time make one feel less of a part of a group.
When people find value in metrics, they hide their actual selves. They won’t be able to make genuine connections, and thus, they will be more isolated. This is extremely socially stunting because you are relying on likes for approval rather than trusting one’s inner compass.
Conclusion
Instagram is the darker side of social media — how social media distorts people’s perception of themselves in the shallow world of superficial peer validation. Loving with likes became the new coin of the realm, and the clicking helped spread social media addiction, isolation, and body shaming issues, which led to depression and more.