After Zuckerberg’s announced Meta will focus on “restoring free expression”, many are unconvinced by Instagram’s latest update to promote a “more friendly” environment.
In the lead up to the US TikTok ban, users were expressing dismay at the thought of doubling down on Instagram. Even going so far as to learn Mandarin to use alternative Chinese socials like RedNote or opting for open source up-starts instead.
Unlike TikTok, which has a reputation for nurturing inclusive and educational communities, Instagram has a reputation for being just plain mean. When SurgeAI conducted a survey asking 100 Gen Zers to compare TikTok and Instagram Reels, 77% of users said TikTok was better, noting that Reel comments were not as enjoyable as TikTok comments.
In an attempt to revamp its comment section and improve its algorithm, Instagram is trialling a “downvote” button for Feed and Reel comments. According to Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, the feature is meant to give users “a private way to signal that they don’t feel good about that particular comment.”
The feature, which is currently in test mode for select users, will not tally dislikes or show that if you have disliked a comment. However, Instagram may eventually use comment downvoting to rank comments, moving disliked comments lower down. “Our hope is that this might help make comments more friendly on Instagram,” explains Mosseri.
But Instagram users are unimpressed with the initiative, with many immediately calling out the feature for being a transparent attempt to imitate other platforms like Reddit and TikTok. Others called the downvote system a cop-out by Meta to avoid actually addressing its growing problem of racist and false comments.
In response to Mosseri’s Thread post addressing the downvote testing, one commenter wrote: “Or, hear me out, you could actually f***ing do something about racist or threatening comments that are reported.”
“Bring Back Fact Checking!!! That will help!” another user commented on the same thread.
The new feature is facing additional criticism for neglecting the major issue users have with Meta’s algorithms. According to one Redditor: “Unless users have a way to see a non-algorithmic feed, or the algorithm is made transparent, this is all window dressing.”
The downvote option draws parallels to Facebook, which has faced similar criticism for negative, false and algorithm-biased comments. Meta tested a downvote button for Facebook comments back in 2018 with the exact same goal, to highlight overly negative replies with limited success.
Does this new feature indicate Instagram’s attempt to better compete with Reddit and TikTok, or a signal that Meta will turn Instagram into Facebook for millennials.
The announcement of the new feature has reignited a call for Instagram to bring back the recent hashtag. The feature enabled users to see the newest content on the platform, making it easier to find and engage with content from smaller accounts organically.
As expressed by one Redditor: “Unless Mosseri is saying “we’re bringing back recent hashtags”, he can STFU for all I care.”