Almost from the start, "likes" on social media were associated with popularity.

The more you received on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the more you valued yourself. The fewer likes people get, the more they start to question their self-worth.

That's why Facebook is trying something new – hiding likes.

Thursday, the social networking behemoth said it's testing a feature in Australia that hides the like counter on the Timeline and News Feed.

The person who posts the content can still see how many people engaged with it, giving it a thumbs up. However, the counter is hidden from public view, so friends and followers can't see how many people gave a like. They could still see comments.

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Facebook told The New York Times it had not decided whether to roll out the test beyond Australia.

“We will gather feedback to understand whether this change will improve people’s experiences,” a Facebook spokesman told the Times. He said Facebook wants to be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.

Instagram, which Facebook owns, was the first to publicly deploy a similar like-hiding strategy. Instagram is testing nonvisible likes in seven countries, including Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

"We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get," Instagram told its users.

According to Psychology Today, not getting many likes is like rejection in digital form. Among younger users on Instagram, posting becomes a contest to see who can get the most likes.

Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown.