We can argue that there are hundreds of social media platforms, but Instagram users are still comfortable with this platform only. That’s why it still has more than a billion users. As it is all about pictures and videos, we may wonder about the most liked Instagram post to date. Insta lovers are usually in search of such information.
In this post, we have brought this exciting information to you. We will also discuss what makes a post viral and how you can find such videos on Instagram. Plus, you’ll also know how these posts may affect your children and what steps you just take to ensure that your kids have a safe environment in every respect.
What makes an Instagram post go viral?
Do you know what factors make an Instagram video go viral? A viral post obviously has something to give to multiple users, which is why everyone is so interested in watching, liking, and sharing those videos. But is there a specific set of characteristics for a post to go viral? Not specifically. But certain factors do affect a post that helps it go viral in a jiffy.
Let’s discuss some of these factors below:
Celebrity influence & massive follower base:
Celebrities are influential and famous people who already have a huge fan following. That’s why if they post anything enjoyable or entertaining, their fans or followers get a notification, and they instantly start watching those posts. The same is the case with the people who may not be celebrities, but they have a massive follower base. Interesting or informative posts from such people naturally prompt their followers to share the links. So, other users who receive those posts also see those posts, and hence the posts become viral.
Event-based content (sports victory, major announcement):
Events of a special nature also have a huge value in people’s lives. Some people go crazy about some sports. Others may constantly wait for similar events like concerts. People interested in politics may keep waiting for an event that interests them. If these users see such posts, they get excited, and they start sharing this information with other users. You may have witnessed such situations during special sports events. For example, the FIFA World Cup. Highlights or special goals from Messi or Ronaldo go viral quicker than you may think.
Emotional/memetic content (humour, social challenge, shareability):
If you are an Instagram user, you must have already seen hundreds of funny memes. Sometimes, these memes are so funny and deep in their meanings that users find them brilliant. So, they start sharing their moments of happiness with others. Some memes are related to a specific location or a country. So, these memes go viral in that specific region. We have also seen very simple people become famous overnight with some interesting social challenges. For example, there was a social challenge of opening a water bottle with a kick. It went viral across multiple borders, and even celebrities started doing that challenge. Such humorous and challenging activities contribute a lot to making a post go viral.
Format & platform changes (photo vs carousel vs reel):
Platforms like Instagram run with a huge team of experts and intelligent people in the background. They constantly keep on arriving to make that platform better and easier for users to use. That’s why they keep adding new features to this platform. Sometimes, they add such features that engage users more actively than before. For example, Instagram started as a platform to share pictures and videos only. Later on, it added features like carousels and reels. Now, Instagram users find it more convenient and addictive to scroll reels. The Instagram algorithm also works in the background to show reels according to the interests of users. This further contributes to making a post go viral.
Timing, hashtags, engagement loops:
The timing of an Instagram post also matters a lot, and it plays a role in making a post viral in a specific time period. For example, posts related to interesting events in the Olympics have more chances to go viral during the Olympic event only. The same is the case with other events. Another very important factor in making a post viral is the hashtag. Sometimes, hashtags play such an important role that they naturally engage a huge pool of users. You may recall the #ArabSpring #MeToo hashtag that went viral globally. They went on to engage so many people that they became full-fledged movements.
How do I find my most liked post on Instagram?
If you want to search for the Instagram post that have the most liked, you cannot do it directly. That’s because Instagram doesn’t allow you to search for posts based on likes. But you can find the Instagram posts you liked in the past, in case you forgot which posts you liked on Instagram. So, if you want to see those posts again, you can do so by following these steps:
- Step 1. Open your Instagram app and tap on your profile.
- Step 2. Tap the three vertical lines at the top of your Instagram app.
- Step 3. Tap “Your activity”.
- Step 4. Tap “Likes”. You will see all the posts that you liked on Instagram in the past.
You can sort your liked posts by Newest to oldest, Dates, and Content Types (Posts, Reels, or Threads).
Monitor Instagram activity to promote a healthy online experience for your kids.
The most liked Instagram post of all time
Let’s briefly discuss the most liked Instagram post of all time just for fun and information.
1. Current record holder: Lionel Messi’s World Cup post (over 70 million likes)
Lionel Messi posted a carousel of his photos lifting the FIFA World Cup in 2022 on his Instagram account. This gathered over 70 million likes on this platform. The reason behind so many likes is the emotional connection and passion of football lovers and their appreciation for the FIFA World Cup winner.
2. Past viral records:
The “world_record_egg” phenomenon: Before Mess’s post, the most liked post on Instagram was a photo of a plain and simple egg. It was uploaded by @world_record_egg account. And it had an appeal to the Instagram users to make a world record for the photo of a simple egg, and surprisingly, it did make a world record. It even beat posts from many influential celebrities on Instagram.
Kylie Jenner’s baby announcement: The most likes on an Instagram post before the egg and Messi posts was the post by Kylie Jenner. She shared an announcement of her baby, Stormi. Her massive followers responded with millions of likes. It shows the emotional connection and support of fans with their ideal celebrities.
These examples reveal how different and unique online trends can be. There are no set patterns and boundaries for the attention economy, especially on social media. That’s why it can always go in any direction that we may not even predict.
Kids often get highly impressed and affected by the virtual trends, and they usually try to imitate those trends. That’s why parents always need to keep guiding their children to stay on the positive, constructive, and practical track.
Why kids care about the “Most Liked” posts?
Now, let’s discuss the relationship of the most liked Instagram post or viral post with the kids.
The social media influence loop: A video that has many likes naturally sounds interesting to kids. That’s why you might have heard that people who want to make a post viral even pay for getting fake likes. This helps those videos get more attention. You can say that likes on a post increase the sense of validation for that post. This gives an idea to a new viewer that if so many people have seen and liked that post, it would be really worth watching and sharing. So, the more likes on a video creates a more social media influence loop and hence portrays self-worth.
Psychological impact on young users: According to a 2023 report by the Cybersmile foundation, as many as 93% of teens said that they like to compare themselves to different social media influencers, and 41% teens said that they like to be compared with others on Instagram. That’s the reason why teens are getting increasingly addicted to platforms like Instagram. They get impressed with famous people who have many liked posts on Instagram. However, teens get negative psychological impacts from blindly following such social media influencers.
In view of the above situations and circumstances, responsible parents feel a dire need to monitor what their kids are watching and following on their Instagram and other social media accounts.
How can parents guide kids through Instagram culture?
So, you have kids, and you want to guide Ethan through Instagram culture. What would be the best way to do it? You probably just can’t do it by giving them a lecture. The social media kids don’t feel cool about getting a lecture. Let’s discuss some of the most probable solutions:
Encourage open conversations about online trends:
You must engage with your kids at all convenient times. Whenever you find the right time to talk to your kids, just engage them fully in your own interesting way. Use that time and conversation to be open and transparent with your kids. Your kids must know that you are telling them something of their interest. It would be best to quote some examples from Instagram posts. This would give your kids an idea that you and they are on the same page in terms of using Instagram. Being unfamiliar with Instagram may lead them to believe you are telling them something you don’t know. Tell them the positives and negatives of online trends so that they can distinguish reality from fake culture.
Teach kids that like ≠ real value:
It is very important that your kids know about the reality of Instagram likes. Most kids think that more likes mean real value. You have to tell them it may not be the case every time. Rather, they must not see or evaluate a list based on its likes. Tell them how people and influencers sometimes pay for getting fake likes to get their posts famous and add fake value to them. You must tell them that the real value is in the content of the post itself. If the message of a post is positive and has value, they should consider it valuable even if it doesn’t have a single like. Promoting the culture of truth and practicality would leave a positive and lasting impact on their personalities.
Use FlashGet Kids:
So, you want to have a solution that saves your time and effort, and gives you the most rewarding results in terms of your kid’s safety? Use the FlashGet Kids app. It’s a parental control app that ensures you have complete visibility of your kids’ activities on their phones. So, if you’re worried about who your kids follow on Instagram and what posts they see or share, you can get all that information by using this app. You just install the app (kids’ version) on your kid’s phone and keep getting all the information on your phone (parents’ version). You can also limit the usage of Instagram for your kids each day. Moreover, you can also view your kids’ daily app activities and block risky or unsafe content to prevent your kids from seeing it. Using this app will eventually help your children focus on creative posting, not just chasing likes.
Forecast: What’s next for Instagram likes records?
With multiple advancements and a highly competitive age of technological competition, you need to have an idea of what your kids might face in the near future. Let’s discuss some of the factors below that are imminent so you can take preventive actions to keep your kids safe:
AI-generated content: We have now entered the age of AI dominance. Instagram reels are full of AI-generated videos. These videos or posts have no limits. Sometimes, we cannot even differentiate between real and fake videos. And the AI-generated posts and videos are going to increase in the near future because people have already started moving away from manual work.
Short-form videos: We have recently observed a shift from long videos to short-form videos. That’s why Instagram, Facebook, and even YouTube have introduced short videos so that users can have more content in a short time. Users also prefer this form of short videos. That’s because they want to see more videos in less time. Kids also follow the same pattern. These short-form videos are most likely to continue in the future, and the length of the videos may also become shorter.
Reels dominance: You must have seen many people scrolling through reels on Instagram for hours. They may not even like seeing long-form videos because they don’t want to get bored by getting lengthy information. We may expect to see an increase in the use of reels rather than full videos in the future.
Live posts with filters: One of the most surprising and worrisome trends is the live videos using unreal filters. People have started using high-intensity filters that even change their facial features. So, in the near future, we may also expect to view some people in the live videos who are actually using a very different or even someone else’s face. We may also expect companies to make ads themselves by using advanced features or video editing techniques without the help of video editing professionals and celebrities.
Conclusion
The most liked Instagram post reflects our emotional and interactive patterns. It showcases our culture of attention and how we perceive the validation of something irrespective of the post’s reality. If we see likes on a post, we immediately get attracted to that post and sometimes also become a part of its chain to make or increase its virality.
As kids are the soft targets of such viral posts, parents need to get involved with their kids so that they get the most out of social media’s positivity. You must always strive to teach your kids how to use social media responsibly. So, if you want your kids to enjoy using Instagram while being in safe limits, you must try the FlashGet Kids app. This way, you can easily monitor their Instagram overall usage and also limit their screen time to ensure digital safety.
