WASHINGTON: There's no doubt that social media is taking a toll on people's mental health and American reality TV star Kim Kardashian West believes that the platform's new feature which hides likes will work in the direction of improving mental well-being.
Kardashian got candid about her views on the new feature which hides the likes and views of photos and videos, being tested by the picture and video sharing platform; on Wednesday at the New York Times' DealBook Conference.
"As far as mental health... I think taking the likes away and taking that aspect away from [Instagram] would be really beneficial for people," People magazine quoted her as saying.
The beauty mogul also added that Instagram's concerns about a person's mental health "make her happy", saying, "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."
While she is an active user on the platform and keeps her fans updated with everything, the mother of four revealed that she is definitely not in the list of those affected by merely the likes on her posts.
"I find myself to be extremely mentally strong and I have people who are obsessed with the comments, and I find that to be really unhealthy," she explained.
"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?' That would really affect me," she admitted.
Being an active Instagram user along with raising kids "is tricky and when I raise my kids, I think about screen time, phone time, what to post, what not to post," she explained.
"I still want people to feel like they're on that journey with me, but I might video something and then post it when I've left the location for privacy," the star added.
The mogul has been vocal about mental health issues and in August last year, she launched her first Facebook fundraiser on behalf of the Child Mind Institute, a non-profit organisation dedicated to changing the lives of kids with mental health issues or learning difficulties.