Instagram is changing the social media scenes to hopefully, a much better way!
Most social media users are familiar with cyber-bullying and not to mention, the pressures of getting “socially approved” by the number of hearts that they can get from their photos.
Undeniably, these factors have contributed to the rise of mental health issues and depression among the youths.
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To curb these pressing social issues, Instagram has since rolled out a few new features and trials that may come across as shocking to Instagram users.
For starters, Instagram has launched trials of hiding “Like” counts across 6 countries, including Canada, Australia, and Japan!
The trial update hides ‘Likes’ and video view counts on users’ feeds, only displaying a “username” followed by “others”.
The director of Policy of Facebook Australia and New Zealand, Mia Garlick, said in a statement:
We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love.
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Now before you go all cray about this huge change, app users will still have access to the number of likes their post garnered. Instagram assures that the trial will not affect businesses or influencers as measurement tools such as Insights and Ads Manager will continue to record likes and engagement metrics.
Another cool new feature introduced by Instagram is the AI-powered Rethink Tool.
The Rethink Tool flags abusive comments using artificial intelligence (AI) technology before they are posted. Users will be prompted questions such as “Are you sure you want to post this?” before they post their comments.
Another AI-powered feature to fight ‘cyber-bullets’ is Instagram’s Restrict Tool.
The Restrict Tool enables users to restrict offensive accounts from publicly posting comments on their posts. This means that users can review offensive comments and choose to either approve, delete or better yet, to hide messages and comments behind the ‘sensitivity screen’.
While screens have changed in the Instagram world, this initiative definitely takes one step closer to curb cyber-bullying!
What are your thoughts on Instagram’s latest implementations? Let us know in the comments!
Header image credits: Kate Torline via Unsplash | lalo Hernandez via Unsplash
