Janice R. Andrews
Elon Musk is advocating for the privacy and engagement of users by lobbying for the conversion of likes on X (previously Twitter) to private. After being accessible to X Premium subscribers for a few months, this program is about to become the standard configuration for all users. A director of engineering at X made the statement, pointing out that users may be discouraged from engaging with potentially “edgy” content due to public likes.
Yes, we are keeping likes secret, Wang, the director, tweeted on Tuesday. Likes from the general public are encouraging bad behavior. For instance, a lot of individuals are deterred from enjoying potentially “edgy” stuff out of concern for troll revenge or to preserve their reputation. Musk also demonstrated his support for the shift by endorsing this point of view by like Wang’s tweet.
The majority of X users now have their likes shown openly on their accounts, making the content they interact with visible to everybody. Public personalities have occasionally faced criticism for their enjoyment of contentious material as a result of this transparency. Last September, the site offered a paid function that allowed users to hide their likes; but, based on Wang’s recent remarks, it appears that this capability would soon be available to all users.
The “edgy” stuff that prominent figures and celebrities like has already been made public by X’s public likes function. Users frequently ignore this feature, which has embarrassed people in public on several occasions. Senator Ted Cruz, for example, once liked a pornographic video, which he subsequently said was the error of a staff member. Similar to this, Samuel L. Jackson swiftly disliked posts that included obscene information once admirers made him aware of them. Even Elon Musk has been under fire for his public likes, as demonstrated by the 2022 like of a right-wing account called Libs of TikTok’s anti-trans post.
As of right now, messages ridiculing trans activists and a meme comparing Dr. Anthony Fauci to Dr. Evil may be seen among Musk’s liked tweets. The kind of publicity that this has brought has frequently put prominent figures—including Musk—in dangerous circumstances.
This action is in line with Musk’s larger plans for X, which include hiding likes and reposts more extensively in order to simplify the user experience. Musk has revealed intentions to merely display the view count on the timeline and to hide the like and repost numbers. With this modification, the emphasis will shift from popularity measures to content quality and less clutter. Musk has given consumers the assurance that this feature is “definitely happening,” even if it hasn’t been installed yet.
By making likes private, users may interact with content on X more freely without worrying about criticism or public inspection. The algorithm’s capacity to suggest material that matches your interests is influenced by your likes, which might enhance the user experience in general. But this decision also takes away some of the openness and accountability that have made Twitter so interesting and, occasionally, contentious.
Users’ interactions with material on X may vary significantly with the possible switch to private likes. It is indicative of a larger movement to protect user privacy and lessen the detrimental effects that public social media use has on society. These modifications underscore the constant balancing act between improving user experience and preserving the public character of social interactions as platforms like as X continue to develop.
Furthermore, turning likes private may have a big impact on how influencers and content producers assess the level of involvement from their following. For a considerable amount of time, public metrics like likes and retweets have been used to gauge the popularity and reach of a post. Content makers may need to depend more on in-person interactions and comments to gauge their impact if these data become less visible.
Allowing regular users to enjoy material without worrying about being scrutinized by the public may encourage more genuine interaction with the site. Interacting with a wider variety of information, even those deemed controversial or unconventional, may make people feel more at ease. Since users won’t need to filter their likes to uphold a particular public persona, the conversation on the network may become deeper and more varied.
Elon Musk’s proposal to turn X likes private is a significant step in the right direction toward improving user privacy and interaction. Although this modification may promote more sincere conversations on the network, it also lessens the openness that has long been a defining feature of Twitter. It will be interesting to observe how this feature changes the dynamics of online interactions and engagement with material on X when it becomes available.
