The Instagram Apocalypse 😱

Over the Easter weekend, you may have noticed that Instagram was flood with things like this:

So, is it really the end of the Instagram as we know it?

The simple answer is no, not just yet.

As I loaded the Instagram app multiple times this weekend, I was spammed with ‘Turn On Notification’ images. Everyone was posting them: celebrities, brands and even a few of my friends. I thought the end was nigh and began to frequently check all of the time stamps as I scrolled through my feed, only to find that nothing had changed and my feed was still being arranged chronologically.

Instagram first announced the new algorithm changes two weeks ago, but they took to Twitter yesterday to reiterate that these planned changes will not be taking place immediately (basically, telling everyone to CHILL). An Instagram spokesperson told the Guardian Australia: that it will be “weeks, if not months of testings” before being rolled out to a small test group.

We're listening and we assure you nothing is changing with your feed right now. We promise to let you know when changes roll out broadly.

— Instagram (@instagram) March 28, 2016

So we can all relax. For now. The changes are still scheduled to take place in the future; it echoes the algorithm changes Facebook made to their feed in 2014. There was a similar public reaction when that news broke, but the world still carried on spinning in the end. It seems that we don’t like to be told what we will like, especially not by computers. But Facebook’s News Feed Product Management Director, Adam Mosseri, explained that “recency is just one important input into what people find meaningful, but we have found over and over again it’s not the only one.”

We advise against turning on any Instagram notifications as it’s likely to become incredibly annoying and subsequently diminish your Instagram experience. Imagine walking into the office on a Monday morning as you receive a notification that your favourite celebrity is partying on their yacht in the Caribbean – it’s not what you need.

Instead, just interact with the posts and accounts you like and that way, your feed should be organised to reflect this. For businesses, though controlling the algorithms or where your posts rank in someone’s feed is soon to be out of reach, focussing your efforts on creating quality content that’s relevant and engaging to your followers is not. That’s where to focus your worry!