Whoever said capitalism breeds innovation can shut the fuck up because I am truly sick of every social media platform trying to copy each other when I use them for different things. Exhibit A: the new Instagram update which is an (unsuccessful) attempt at impersonating TikTok.
If you have not yet been cursed with the new Instagram update, consider yourself blessed.
I was unfortunately one of the first people in my circles to be burdened with it, and after having it for weeks I am completely turned off the app. I now only really use it to watch stories or reply to a DM. Scrolling? On Instagram? Consider it a thing of the past.
What is it about the new update that makes Instagram so heinous to use, you ask?
The scroll function on your home page/feed has now adjusted to a full-screen, continuous scroll like that of TikTok — and it appears to prioritise Reels over plain pictures or carousels.
Now when I use the app, I am presented with way more, mostly shitty Reels from creators that I barely interact with compared to the posts I actually care about — my friends’ Saturday night photo dumps. In my own experience, I’m seeing roughly three Reels for every one image post.
The new Instagram update really understood what I was looking for: – none of my friends’ content – reposted TikToks from meme accounts I do not follow – 100x more ads – everything played at full volume against my will
