No likes, no comments, no following count.

VSCO, a photo editing and sharing platform, provides an escape from social media’s stigmas and standards. The app is filled with profiles featuring photos of nature, friends and activities.

With trends on Instagram like #makeinstacausalagain, influencers and users are posting photos and videos of their lives that are meant to look effortless and receive the highest like count possible. In reality, each of these “casual” photos Instagram influencers put out come after professional photographers and makeup artists have been working on them behind the scenes.

It is not the photo on its own, but the millions of likes that has young users comparing themselves to the influencers. It sets a standard people think they should achieve since it’s attracting this huge following.

Seeing a stream without likes or following count reinforces a more positive way to share and view posts.

It’s hard to be real on social media when everyone is posting glorified versions of their lives, but VSCO has changed that for me.

Now, when I take any photo, my first thought is to post it to my page there. 

While there are functions on the app like repost and favorite, people aren’t able to see how many reposts a photo gets, or even who else has favorited the image. This app is a release of pressure and a break from high standards held on social media.

Users on VSCO only receive positive feedback from posts. There are no comments which eliminates online hate to photos.

When I open VSCO I’m not worried about how many followers I have, or how many likes I get when I post. The app is teaching me how to feel good online and share raw and real snippets of my life, rather than cherry-picked content.

VSCO eliminates the stress of likes and followers but still brings a feed, without the negativity.