Facebook has begun a test to hide the number of likes, reactions and video views from posts in Australia as part of an initiative to make the social network less stressful to use.
The Facebook test run will hide the number of likes, reactions and video views from other users but the author of the post will still be able to see the numbers. The company said the test will be applied to posts from users and pages, as well as ads across Facebook in Australia and will slowly be rolled out to the majority of users in the country.
In early September, the company made an announcement that it was considering hiding like counts on the platform. A Facebook spokesperson said: "We are running a limited test where like, reaction, and video view counts are made private across Facebook. We will gather feedback to understand whether this change will improve people's experiences."
In April, Facebook-owned Instagram said it would begin testing hiding like counts in Canada in order to help reduce pressure on the platform and then later expanded the test to other countries, including Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. A spokesperson for Instagram said "We are testing this because we want your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get."
Renee Engeln, a psychology professor at Northwestern University, pointed out "Likes are powerful because they are immediate feedback. In a way, likes give you the same kind of hit like a gambler gets at a slot machine."
While some social media influencers have expressed concerns about the experiment, Kamiu Lee, CEO of influencer marketing company Activate, argued that the impact of Facebook hiding likes will not be much of a concern for influencers.
Lee added "Instagram is a much bigger platform in the influencer space," she said. "A lot of influencers do post on Facebook, but more as a secondary amplification [of their content]. They really view Instagram or YouTube as their core channel."
