Thanks Scott! I tend to agree with this method with non-critical metrics such as likes, hearts, views, etc. Nobody really cares too much about them being accurate, but I can see there could be a database loading/speed issue if the user base grows to something like 100,000+ and they are happily scrolling through tons of lists/images/posts with these metrics. Since I don't have enough experience with database loading/server performance, etc. , I'll let my fear dictate this direction, knowing that at least I won't need code re-writes if the user base ever gets large...