I quite like that Instagram has the option to not show a like counter under posts. Under that setting it will just say Liked by So And So Mutuals & Others.
Reply /comments count isnt perfect but way more useful, sometimes
Discussion
i think that side of it is under-explored too. it’s interesting that unconscious effect likes and follow counts have on your perception.
i hate how sometimes my mind, by default, might give a post/comment on ig/twitter merit just because of how many likes it has.
But also if there are hundreds of thousands views/ likes, it's Played Out. Lol :)