According to frustrated creators across social media, 100 likes might actually be the new 1000. Welcome to what users are calling the “like recession.”

The pattern is consistent enough to have spawned its own genre of bewildered social media commentary. Long-time users returning to Instagram after spending time on TikTok often find their once-reliable engagement has evaporated. Photos that would have easily collected hundreds of likes now struggle to break into double digits.

We’ve become a generation of lurkers, but not in a creepy way. We watch, we absorb, but we rarely interact. In an era where every digital action feels like it could be tracked, screenshotted, or misinterpreted, passive consumption has become the default mode.

While shifting user behavior explains part of the phenomenon, Instagram itself has been actively reshaping what success looks like on its platform. Instagram head Adam Mosseri had revealed that “shares per reach” have become one of the platform’s top ranking signals. This algorithmic shift coincided with another major change: Instagram started showing users less content from accounts they follow and more from accounts the algorithm thinks they’ll enjoy.

The new currency isn’t likes. It’s shares, saves, and sustained attention. Likes were always a weak signal; easy to give, meaning very little. When success was measured purely in likes, there was enormous pressure to create content that would get immediate reactions; often at the expense of depth or authenticity. The algorithm rewarded anything that delivered quick hits of dopamine.

But content that gets shared tends to be different. The brands that thrive in this new environment will be the ones who stop obsessing over vanity metrics and start paying attention to meaningful engagement.

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