Likes: we all crave them. Those tiny little hearts people tap, as they thumb through Instagram are what 21st-century validation dreams are made of. (Or nightmares, if you’re 73 weeks deep in a crush’s feed and fear exposing your lurking ways.) Up until today, one would need 11 likes for the numerical count to display beneath your latest selfie. That was the coveted number, for it proved to you and your followers that there are more people that like you than can be comfortably listed below your artful Kinfolk and latte snap.
Mashable confirmed that Instagram is testing a new feature that shows number counts over user handles. Some users have already seen the feature in real time. One user said it will be a “game changer for teens.” Another proudly said “[they] won’t feel like a loser” if they only get five likes. Others, however, are still of the belief that 11 is Instagram Like heaven.
Instagram didn’t elaborate much beyond confirming the test to Mashable. More people will be seeing it, but an official rollout date—if there will ever be one—has yet to be announced. Oh well. Popularity is in the eye of the beholder anyway.
