So Nicki Minaj put me on to the real reason Instagram is getting rid of likes as soon as this week!
She took to her social media to say this:
“So basically , Instagram is about to take everyone’s likes simply because they don’t want you to go off on the side, forming all sorts of businesses and being able to say, ‘I get this amount of likes,’ and charging brands. They want you to have to pay them. If you pay them, then that’s why we have all these ‘sponsored’ Instagram posts… They had to shuffle it real quick to let you know, you ain’t the boss.”
In the meantime, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is insisting they are doing this in "hopes" to "depressurize Instagram a little bit, and make it a bit less of a competition. The idea is to try and reduce anxiety and social comparisons, specifically with an eye towards young people.”
Cue eye roll.