Kim Kardashian Says Ditching Instagram Likes Could Be Beneficial

Kim Kardashian West is arguably the queen of Instagram — with 151 million followers in total, it’s hard not to consider how the app has positively affected her business and fame. But what about her mental health?

Instagram has been ranked the worst social media app for mental health according to a 2017 report published by the Royal Society for Public Health and the Young Health Movement. The findings highlighted that the ‘gram rates terribly low for body image and FOMO, as well as bullying, feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness — but is that really that surprising?

To combat this phenomenon, the photo sharing app has started to test out a new feature that will hide the amount of likes and view counts you get from your followers. This has upset a lot of people, influencers, and brands who count on those likes to make themselves feel better and for marketing and businesses purposes. But, surprisingly, Kim K supports this potential move by the social media giant.

Speaking at The New York Times’ DealBrook Conference in New York City, the SKIMs founder broke down what Instagram’s new controversial feature could mean for the wellbeing of social media users.

“As far as mental health… I think taking the likes away and taking that aspect away from [Instagram] would be really beneficial for people,” Kardashian West said at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room at the Time Warner Center.

“I know the Instagram team has been having a bunch of conversations with people to get everyone’s take on that and they’re taking it really seriously, and that makes me happy,” Kardashian West continued.

While the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star expressed that she considers herself to be “extremely mentally strong” while scrolling through Instagram, she’s had her fair share of experiences with people close to her who have become a little too obsessed with the comments on their photos.

“I struggle with having to step outside of how I feel and thinking about, ‘What if one of my children was like one of my friends who wasn’t as mentally strong and would really be affected by the comments?'" she said. “That would really affect me.”

Having kids has also influenced the way that Kardashian West uses the app — not only what she herself posts, but how often she lets them use screens in general.

“It is tricky and when I raise my kids, I think about screen time, phone time, what to post, what not to post,” she explained.

Since the oldest Kardashian West child, North, is just six, the reality star might not have to worry too much about her kids fixating on like counts just yet — after all, Instagram might just take that feature away before they're even old enough to use it.