A few friends and I just launched a weekend project that I think you may enjoy. We built a chrome extension hides the number of favorites, likes, and followers from your feed so you can focus on the content.
We were inspired by one of Kanye West’s tweets, as he talks about “being able to participate in social media without having to show how many followers or likes we have. Just like how we can turn off the comments we should be able to turn off the display of followers. This has an intense negative impact on our self worth.”
Social media (in 2018) plays a heavily influential role in the lives of Americans. It affects the way we think, what we feel, and how we spend our time.
We are calling this project an experiment as it shows users what it feels like to experience the rawness of social media. So often, we get caught up in the numbers. How many people liked this? How many people followed that?
Why does this happen? Validation is an addiction. We get a biological endorphin rush every time the notification bubble pops up. It is super fun! But eh…Is it really important or memorable? It is like going to the casino. Fun! But not necessarily great for you.
I am curious what you think of our extension so please let me know your thoughts 🙂
Also published on Medium.