The amount of "likes" one gets is one of the biggest components of Facebook. The social media giant is now considering hiding that number.
Adam Haddock says the chase for likes is an obsession for many of his classmates at Mineola High School.
"It's always in the back of their minds sometimes, like when they post a picture, they always try to get a lot of likes in 24 hours," Haddock says.
But the reason some people post a lot and keep coming back could now be changing. Facebook is considering hiding the numbers of likes on posts and pictures to remove the popularity contest of posting, which makes some people feel bad when their post does not hit a large number.
"It is a danger for our kiddos because in this culture, they're measuring themselves by how many likes they get or don't get and that can cause a lot of depression," says Jennifer Bohr-Cuevas, a licensed clinical social worker.
"I think it's a great idea," says Sherah Thomas, of Hempstead. "I think a lot of people are so caught up with the likes, and they're so concerned with what other people think. It's a good thing to hide it."
Ben Shapiro, of Roslyn, disagrees, saying, "I think that's part of what social media is. Some businesses and people need that to keep going. They need their likes."
"A lot of people I know are mad about it, like my friends are mad about it," Haddock said. "They thought it was a stupid idea. I think in some ways it's actually better because people can see the actual picture and not the like number."
So far, Facebook's experiment is only showing up on a few users' profiles.