Make Instagram Instagram Again: Why is Instagram is receiving backlash for their new updates?

If you use Instagram regularly, you may have noticed that there have been a significant number of changes to the app. We are seeing more and more ads and video-based content. Are these positive changes? Many Instagram users are very unhappy with the changes and are asking for Instagram to stop trying to be like TikTok.

Instagram Updates: What’s Changed?

The changes on Instagram have included an extremely algorithmic main feed, a push for Reels, and heavy promotion of the TikTok-style “remix” features. This means that users have struggled to find content from their family and friends. It also means that they’re seeing a decline in engagement from image-based posts. After all, people are on Instagram to post photos and enjoy friends and families’ photos, so I can see the frustration.

How have Instagram users responded to the changes?

We have now seen many Instagram users share images that state “make Instagram Instagram again” and “we don’t need two TikToks”. We’ve even seen backlash from Kylie and Kim Kardashian who posted a story. I haven’t seen anyone defend the changes and it seems like people really want Instagram to go back to the way it was.

How has Instagram responded to the backlash?

“We’re hearing a lot of concerns from all of you,” Adam Mosseri said in a video posted to Twitter. “I’m hearing a lot of concerns about photos, and how we’re shifting to video. We’re going to continue to support photos, but I need to be honest: more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time. We’re going to have to lean in to that shift while continuing to support photos.”

In my opinion, I can see points from both sides, but Instagram is heading down the same road as My Space. I understand where they’re coming from, the world is changing and video content is the future. However, that doesn’t mean that images are dead. People still and will continue to love posting images and seeing their friends and family’s images. Instead of expanding in their own niche, they have tried to completely copy another platform that people use for a different purpose. People aren’t going to switch to Reels from TikTok, so they need to stop trying to be something that they’re not.

If people want to watch videos, they’ll go to TikTok. If they want to read opinions, they’ll go to Twitter. If they want to look at images or stories, they go to Instagram. Now that Instagram is turning into the Aldi version of TikTok (no disrespect to Aldi because I love it), they have no platform to look at photos.

At the end of the day, listening to your customers is the number one lesson in marketing. Understanding what your audience wants is important. If Instagram continues to ignore what its audience wants, people will stop asking and simply leave the platform. I won’t be surprised if someone sees a gap in the market and decides to make their own version of the old Instagram. It’s going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out.