Reflections on Instagram: Its Evolution & Mine
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Image by Bev Acton Graphics — please check out her work, it’s amazing!
There’s no denying that Instagram has been through quite an evolution. All apps need to adapt to keep up with what consumers want, but as a social media professional, I fear that Instagram is losing sight of itself in its efforts to keep up with competitors. Today on the blog, I’m sharing reflections on the changes we’ve seen with Instagram so far and how I’m shifting my approach to the platform.
Ch-ch-ch-changes for Instagram
Back in 2016, Instagram launched the Stories feature, copying Snapchat’s 24-hour-ephemeral post, and it took off like wildfire. Now, Stories are widely used by most Instagrammers. More recently, they launched Reels, a TikTok copycat feature. Reels launched in 2020, but it’s only been since 2022 that Instagram has really pivoted the algorithm to favor Reels heavily. Users lament that their in-feed posts are no longer seen because Instagram is de-prioritizing them in favor of short-form video content.
As we’re all still reeling (ha! see what I did there?) from the whiplash of trying to keep up with Reels, reports indicate that Meta is also trying to create a BeReal type feature for Instagram. For those not familiar, BeReal prompts you to take a candid photo once a day at a random time–there’s no planning ahead for it–and it photographs your moment from both the front and back-facing cameras. It’s supposed to prompt more realness online. I’m all for it–but it doesn’t need to be on Instagram too.
I’m not the first and won’t be the last to say: it’s too much! Chill, Instagram. We can’t all be video creators, educational post writers, graphic designers, behind-the-scenes Story content sharers, and authentic individuals in candid moments. It doesn’t make sense for every human and every brand to share so much, in so many different forms, all the time.
According to Business Insider, for as hard as Instagram is pushing Reels, they just aren’t taking off. Only 20% of Instagram users share Reels monthly, users spend one tenth the amount of time watching Reels as TikTok users do watching Tiktoks, and a third of all Reels content is made elsewhere and uploaded to Instagram–there’s little originality. While Instagram was previously known for being a place to share your unique perspective, it’s become a place for recycled content and stale trends to be dumped for the sake of sharing Reels to appease the algorithm. Users are exhausted.
Shifting My Approach
A series of thoughtful Stories from therapist Alaina Brubaker got me reflecting on how I use Instagram, how I’ve evolved as a person over the years, and how my approach to the app needs to keep evolving too. Three years ago, when I launched my business, I decided to lean into having a personal brand. My Instagram account has been a blend of business and personal for years, which has its pros and cons. It does make it extra-confusing when I sign in multiple times a day and start scrolling.
I tap mindlessly through Stories, taking it all in–Stories of my friends, my clients, my family, nonprofits I volunteer with, restaurants and coffee shops, artists in other countries, museums, Japanese reality TV stars–and it’s a lot. It’s unclear what I am doing here. What’s the purpose? Am I here to learn when my favorite band is dropping a new album? To see acquaintances’ children’s first day of school photos? To figure out which restaurant has the best special this week that I should order takeout from? To book a tattoo appointment? To support my clients? I’m at a loss.
The more content I consume, the less energy I have to pursue my own creative impulses. It has a dampening effect rather than an inspiring one, leading to overwhelm and shutdown. In an effort to escape the noise, I unfollowed 500 accounts. It was thrilling! I felt lighter afterwards (though guilty too–it’s common to take unfollows personally when often, it’s not personal at all). When I log into Instagram now, I’m inundated with far less random information and just see a few posts that bring me joy rather than stress.
I’m planning to post less, too. Like any millennial (especially one who works in social media), I haven’t been able to avoid tying my self worth to like counts to some extent. I started hiding like counts on posts (though I find it frustrating that Instagram requires you to do this on every single post after sharing it). I know on an intellectual level that the number of likes doesn’t matter, but the dopamine rush of likes is 100% real. And when you’re used to getting X amount of likes and they stop coming in, you wonder, did I do something wrong? Why don’t people like this post? Is it boring? Am *I* boring? Everyone hates me.
Everyone doesn’t hate you. Instagram is just Reel-obsessed. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri claimed that they are responding to data on users’ habits: that people love connecting via Stories and DMs, so Instagram prioritizes that over in-feed posts. A disingenuous statement, as the reason people resort to Stories and DMs is because in-feed, static posts are being de-prioritized in the algorithm in favor of Reels. I do think people are walking away from the app as their frustration and disappointment grows. For many of us, it’s been a big part of our lives for a decade now, and it feels hard to walk away! That’s why I’m changing my approach rather than saying goodbye completely.
I don’t say all this to say there’s nothing good to come of Instagram, or that it’s not worthwhile. I’ve made many amazing friends through Instagram. I love having conversations with people in DMs. I think businesses and nonprofits will continue to find it a reliable marketing tool–audiences are there, and not everything lends itself well to video.
While this hasn’t been my typical educational blog post, I want it to be a giving permission blog post. Feeling weird about Instagram? You have permission to unfollow anyone you want–you don’t need to feel bad. You have permission to take a break. You have permission to post less. You have permission to never make a Reel in your life. You have permission to only use Instagram from your computer rather than your phone.
As a social media professional, I think it’s extremely normal to have murky, mixed feelings about these apps we’re all tethered to. Pay attention to how you feel when you’re on each app, and how you feel walking away from it. It’s easy for people to say “only follow accounts that bring you joy” but it’s harder to execute on that, to notice the nuances of emotion we’re experiencing. So if it brings you joy to refuse to watch Reels or gleefully hit unfollow, I say go for it. Release the guilt. Don’t try so hard. The social media landscape is always changing–and we humans are changing too.
TikTok is much more appealing to me than Instagram these days. Curious to learn about TikTok? You might enjoy these blog posts:
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