It isn’t a control scheme though it’s not like posts are hidden if they don’t get likes within an hour or something.
I’ve almost hit it once but I 100% know I’m a hater so…yeah…
That panda clip is awesome.
I think it’s because likes are part of the trust level obedience training system and they don’t want you to game the system.
The “never say no to panda” commercials are epic. 
I’ve always said this.
I’ve witness more people playing the heart system than i can count. I’ll see a completely asinine post or reply get a bunch of hearts and all the people who hearted have 100% identical pet collections.
I’ve seen forum trolls with trust 3 and I’ve yet to see someone post a picture (that requires 3) who wasn’t trying to get a rise out of someone in some manner. Very ironic