An Instagram 'influencer' has slammed the social media giant for removing the like count on posts, telling fans "if you think this is okay, you can f**k off".
Mikaela Testa, who has less than 50,000 followers across her social media accounts, says the move has put her livelihood in jeopardy following the update.
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The change came last week, when Instagram announced it was hiding the number of likes on each post in an attempt to remove the "competitive nature" of the app.
Testa shared the story with her 10,000 followers, calling it "a sad day for those who have Instagram as a job".
"Regardless of what you may think, Instagram is a REAL job and those in the industry have worked hard to get where they're at," ranted the 19-year-old.
"It's people that aren't even in the industry that think it's a f**king joke. It's not, it's real damage out here."
The Melbourne local wrote she put "blood, sweat and tears" into her influencing.
"It's not just me suffering, too; it's every brand and business I know. Instagram isn't even doing this for mental health, they're just doing it so they can control all engagement," she wrote.
"They don't care about your feelings."
Testa even went so far as to remove herself from social media in protest, but was back the next day with a post reading "OK, break is over".
Many mocked Testa on Facebook, calling her distress the ultimate in "First World problems".
"Learn how to make coffee," one person advised.
"Cry me a river," scoffed another.
Other influencers have welcomed the change. Lisa Clark, who has almost 100,000 followers, told 10 Daily: "It's not the end of the world."
"The change won't impact me personally - I am grateful to be at a place in my life where I do use the platform to share my life, but it doesn't consume me enough that likes make me feel more or less loved/or liked," she said.
It's safe to say that Testa does not disagree.
Newshub.
