‘Instagram Targeting Teens is Grotesque’: Thousands of Influencers Rally Behind Kim Kardashian’s ‘Stop Copying TikTok’ Warcry, Threaten to Leave Platform
The TikTok-ification of Instagram has been irritating for a wide range of users on the social media platform for quite some time now. The application which used to be a primary photo-sharing platform is slowly evolving backward into a perverse version of TikTok, relinquishing its USP for the sake of engagement. Reels are becoming the only engaged norm on the app, with the short video format reigning supreme over our home feed as well, and that too against our will.
The Kardashians are unhappy with the new Instagram
With the latest changes in Instagram, normal posts are getting side-lined for the dominance of reels. And apparently, common folks aren’t the only ones annoyed with these changes. The Kardashian clan has vocally expressed their dislike for what Instagram has now become.
Kim Kardashian shared a post nostalgically reminiscing the days when Instagram was simply a photo-sharing app, on her Instagram story. The post reads:
“Make Instagram Instagram again. (Stop trying to be tiktok i just want to see cute photos of my friends). Sincerely, everyone.”
Kim’s sister Kylie Jenner also re-shared the same post on her IG story today. The said post has over 1.1 million likes already and the Change.org petition linked with the post has almost 100,000 signatures.
How one of the most loved social media platforms derogated into a cheap clone of TikTok
The fact of the matter is that this convergence of Instagram into TikTok is not a sudden jerk pulled on all of us. It has been a slow and steady descent and now we find ourselves in an alien land. The company that owns Instagram, Meta, has cunningly been focusing on Reels (ditto of TikTok) vis-à-vis engagement. Meta also encouraged Reels by monetarily rewarding its creators. Regarding recent changes, the latest ones to be brought in are a full-screen effect on videos and an update that every video posted on the platform will automatically metamorphose into Reels.
The ironic part in all of this debacle is that Instagram posted a TikTok video to announce a test of the full-screen video feed. Anyone can guess that the reactions were mostly negative.
Can we see the Kardashian effect?
The Kardashians own many businesses and Instagram is definitely a major platform for advertising their products, including Kim Kardashian’s skincare brand SKKN by Kim, her clothing brand SKIMS, and Kylie Jenner’s makeup brand Kylie Cosmetics. Despite the many changes in Instagram, their businesses would probably not get affected but yet they seem to have struck a nerve.
Kylie Jenner has 360 million followers on Instagram, second only to a soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo. It could’ve been a good guess that getting a thumbs down from the second-most followed person on Instagram could open some ears, especially because of Kylie Jenner’s past effects on social media reception. Back in 2018, when Snapchat introduced a redesign, Kylie Jenner tweeted that she doesn’t open the app anymore, resulting in the company losing almost $1.3 billion worth of stocks in a single day.
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”: Instagram
Apparently, though, even the Kardashians are powerless in the entire dynamic. A tweet shared by an American journalist, Yashar Ali shows the screenshot of a conversation he had with a Meta executive, which makes it clear that no amount of flak from any celebrity is enough to deter Instagram from its downward spiraling. And people had plenty of rejoinders for Instagram’s imbecilic approach of trying to turn a profit by disappointing its users.
https://twitter.com/nikitarinaa/status/1551676878049746949
They're getting killed by tiktok and they don't care if their major influencers are bashing the product? What?
— MaasNeotekPrototype (@MaasNeotekProto) July 25, 2022
https://twitter.com/politiquacks/status/1551837274886721536
I’m curious if their data is showing an increase in users since they shifted to a tiktok like model? Surely if they lose numbers and are not closing that gap? If they haven’t, does that mean it’s working despite how much we hate it?
— Emmeline (@EmmelineSummer) July 25, 2022
He/she is right. Everyone is reacting to TikTok's explosive success versus doubling down on their unique solution to the market.
— History for All, All for History (@his2reelover) July 25, 2022
The idea of social media itself was questioned by many users who claimed that no such platform can ever be permanent.
https://twitter.com/Duel461/status/1551703309362290688
The adverse effects of social media on people in general and teens, in particular, were also brought up.
Quite honestly, that these companies target teens is grotesque. Teens shouldn’t be spending so much time on social media or their phones. I’ll be keeping my teens off social media entirely. Wish others would allow their kids to be kids while they can too.
— Icebish (@Icebish1) July 25, 2022
It doesn’t look like Instagram is planning to change the course of its route anytime soon and it is yet to be seen if people can muster up the willpower to boycott the platform to teach Meta a lesson.
We’re addicted to our own poison after all.
Source: The Verge
