Meta Launches $3.99 Instagram Plus Story Tools That Fuel Limerence

2 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 5

$3.99-a-month Instagram Plus, released by Meta in June, lets users see how many times someone viewed a story, with timestamps and searchable viewer lists.
Psychologists say those tools intensify limerence—an obsessive romantic fixation—because social media combines constant information with uncertainty, a mix that reinforces reward-seeking and overanalysis.
Interest in the concept has surged alongside that environment: Google searches for “limerence” are up 500% in five years, with about 43,000 TikTok videos and 46,000 Instagram posts using the hashtag.
Researchers and former Meta engineer Matt Hannan say Instagram already functions as a dating and status arena for many young users, making finer-grained viewing data especially potent as “intel” about attention and interest.
Experts say breaking limerence usually requires cutting off the digital cues that sustain it—unfollowing, blocking searches and limiting contact—even though the withdrawal can last for months.