It has been quite a busy few days for Adam Mosseri and the folks over at Instagram. If you hadn’t heard, let me be the first to let you know: Instagram has changed. Again. Yes, my friends, you read that correctly.
At some point during the last week of July, Instagram began to roll out some changes to their users that left people…a little angry, to say the least. These changes included increasing how many videos users were seeing in their main feed, especially from accounts that a user doesn’t follow, and introducing a full-screen mode for viewing (you guessed it) videos.
👋🏼 There’s a lot happening on Instagram right now.
I wanted to address a few things we’re working on to make Instagram a better experience.
Please let me know what you think 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/x1If5qrCyS
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) July 26, 2022
These updates were the latest in an effort for the platform to become more video-centric like TikTok, which boasts over a billion users worldwide. Unfortunately though, these updates were met with considerable outrage and a massive uproar by regular users, influencers, and celebrities alike. It seems that what everyone wants is the pure simplicity of the original Instagram, where the focus was solely on photos. What they’re getting now is little-to-no viewability of their loved ones’ content and instead, a constant stream of videos from users that they don’t know.
Below are just a few replies to Mosseri’s announcement from public figures that demonstrate how upset, angry and frustrated users have become with the platform and its updates.
we don’t wanna make videos Adam lol
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 26, 2022
It sucks right now. Stop trying to be TikTok. I don’t want to make videos.
— roxane gay (@rgay) July 26, 2022
Here’s a few million dollars of market research for you: We are bombarded by strangers’ videos and “Suggested Posts” and see none of our friends’ photos. Reels is the flat RC Cola version of TikTok. You’re trying to pass off an identity crisis as evolution and it’s bad.
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) July 26, 2022
Frankly the app has become miserable to use. Reach/engagement has plummeted, and all I see are ads at the top of my feed and Reels. I get the need to be competitive… but not at the cost of destroying what you do best
— Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) July 26, 2022
Instagram’s users are frustrated by the platform’s constant updates that continue to demonstrate that they’re not listening to their audience and the millions of people who use their platform on a daily basis. I myself have seen many influencers share their annoyance with the platform for prioritizing video content first and photo second. It’s exasperating and not at all what the platform used to be.
Several major celebrities that joined in on the outrage taking place against Instagram. Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner also joined the conversation by sharing a message to their massive list of followers “Make Instagram Instagram Again.”
Screenshots via Instagram
The video Adam Mosseri posted states that the social media platform will essentially be rolling back those new changes after hearing from their users. In an interview with the tech newsletter Platformer, he said, “I’m glad we took a risk – if we’re not failing every once in a while, we’re not thinking big enough or bold enough. But we definitely need to take a big step back and regroup.”
So while these changes have been canceled for now, what does this mean for the future? Well, Mosseri stated in the above article that the rollbacks unfortunately aren’t permanent, and that he does believe that Instagram really will become more video-focused in the future, so it’s important for us, the platform’s users, to “lean into that shift.”
And thus begins the mental rollercoaster of preparing ourselves for more updates. In what way, shape or form they occur, I’m not sure, but I will definitely be sure to keep you clued in.
Are you a fan of the changes or do you miss the original, photo-first Instagram? Let us know!
