Ever since being bought by Facebook in 2012, Instagram has made several tweaks and updates to their service to make it more simple and positive. The most controversial one might be this new update rolled out by Instagram recently.<\/p>\n
Instagram has removed the \u201cFollowing\u201d tab from their application!<\/p>\n
What exactly is the \u201cFollowing\u201d tab?<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"instagram](\"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/instagram-following-tab.jpg\")
Before<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n![\"instagram](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFor those of you unfamiliar with this, Instagram had a feature that allowed users to see the activity of the people they follow. Released with the sole aim of letting you know what you\u2019re friends like and comment (aiding new account discovery), the feature had since become a stalker tool. It turned friendships sour, relationships upside-down and even instilled a sense of paranoia in many. Let\u2019s just say that this feature had become similar to a +4 card in UNO in many ways.<\/p>\n
The \u201cFollowing\u201d tab fell under the \u00a9 section which also featured the \u201cYou\u201d tab that had all activity related to you (including being mentioned in comments).<\/p>\n
The new update has removed the \u201cFollowing<\/strong>\u201d tab and renamed the \u201cYou<\/strong>\u201d to \u201cActivity<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\nPositives and Negatives of Removing this feature<\/strong><\/h4>\nHere are a few of the positives and negatives of Instagram\u2019s newest update. In all fairness, these are largely based on how exactly users made use of this feature, but it should be stated nonetheless.<\/p>\n
Pros<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Users become less conscious of their activity.
\n\u2022 An increased level of privacy within the app.
\n\u2022 Removal of a feature that not many people knew about.<\/p>\nCons<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Removed a method that helped get content shared more easily.
\n\u2022 Bummer for those who used this feature positively.
\n\u2022 New account discovery is possible only by the \u201cExplore\u201d tab from now onwards.<\/p>\nConclusion<\/strong><\/p>\nAnother interesting fact is that many casual Instagram users didn\u2019t even realize that such a feature existed in the first place, making it a pointless feature. This has been cited by Instagram as one of the reasons for its removal.<\/p>\n
This update has been rolling out slowly and steadily since August of this year for certain users in specific regions but has currently been updated for all users all over the world. Instagram Head of Product, Vishal Shah was quoted by BuzzFeed News as saying that simplicity was the main driving factor in deciding to remove this feature.<\/p>\n
Whatever be the reason, the removal has gotten mixed reactions from users all over the globe. While stalkers are disappointed, those being stalked are elated by this new update. Many also feel that by removing the feature, new account discovery will be hindered. Even though the \u201cExplore\u201d page is what intended to allow people to find new accounts, the \u201cFollowing\u201d tab helped this, and in many cases, found better accounts based on friend circle interests.<\/p>\n
We as a community need to encourage changes similar to this that are negatively affecting people. Yes, the negative causes are due to the users themselves and not the company. At the end of the day, if the general public cannot use a useful feature positively, it has to be taken away before the damage can be inflicted. And Instagram has taken its first step in this direction.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, they manage to bring the feature back but with certain privacy options to allow what is shown and what is hidden. This might help solve the stalking problem while also aiding new account discovery.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Social networking services like Facebook and Instagram were created with an intent to enable people to become more connected and involved with each other. The irony of the situation is that these very services have made people less social in real life. The evidence is right before our eyes. Take a walk down your street<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[942,941,943],"class_list":{"0":"post-2761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-media","8":"tag-following-tab-removed","9":"tag-instagram-following-tab","10":"tag-instagram-update"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2761"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2767,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions\/2767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n For those of you unfamiliar with this, Instagram had a feature that allowed users to see the activity of the people they follow. Released with the sole aim of letting you know what you\u2019re friends like and comment (aiding new account discovery), the feature had since become a stalker tool. It turned friendships sour, relationships upside-down and even instilled a sense of paranoia in many. Let\u2019s just say that this feature had become similar to a +4 card in UNO in many ways.<\/p>\n The \u201cFollowing\u201d tab fell under the \u00a9 section which also featured the \u201cYou\u201d tab that had all activity related to you (including being mentioned in comments).<\/p>\n The new update has removed the \u201cFollowing<\/strong>\u201d tab and renamed the \u201cYou<\/strong>\u201d to \u201cActivity<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n Here are a few of the positives and negatives of Instagram\u2019s newest update. In all fairness, these are largely based on how exactly users made use of this feature, but it should be stated nonetheless.<\/p>\n Pros<\/strong> Cons<\/strong> Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n Another interesting fact is that many casual Instagram users didn\u2019t even realize that such a feature existed in the first place, making it a pointless feature. This has been cited by Instagram as one of the reasons for its removal.<\/p>\n This update has been rolling out slowly and steadily since August of this year for certain users in specific regions but has currently been updated for all users all over the world. Instagram Head of Product, Vishal Shah was quoted by BuzzFeed News as saying that simplicity was the main driving factor in deciding to remove this feature.<\/p>\n Whatever be the reason, the removal has gotten mixed reactions from users all over the globe. While stalkers are disappointed, those being stalked are elated by this new update. Many also feel that by removing the feature, new account discovery will be hindered. Even though the \u201cExplore\u201d page is what intended to allow people to find new accounts, the \u201cFollowing\u201d tab helped this, and in many cases, found better accounts based on friend circle interests.<\/p>\n We as a community need to encourage changes similar to this that are negatively affecting people. Yes, the negative causes are due to the users themselves and not the company. At the end of the day, if the general public cannot use a useful feature positively, it has to be taken away before the damage can be inflicted. And Instagram has taken its first step in this direction.<\/p>\n Hopefully, they manage to bring the feature back but with certain privacy options to allow what is shown and what is hidden. This might help solve the stalking problem while also aiding new account discovery.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social networking services like Facebook and Instagram were created with an intent to enable people to become more connected and involved with each other. The irony of the situation is that these very services have made people less social in real life. The evidence is right before our eyes. Take a walk down your street<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[942,941,943],"class_list":{"0":"post-2761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-media","8":"tag-following-tab-removed","9":"tag-instagram-following-tab","10":"tag-instagram-update"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2761"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2767,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions\/2767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"instagram](\"https:\/\/socioblend.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/instagram-following-tab-renamed-to-activity.jpg\")
Positives and Negatives of Removing this feature<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\u2022 Users become less conscious of their activity.
\n\u2022 An increased level of privacy within the app.
\n\u2022 Removal of a feature that not many people knew about.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Removed a method that helped get content shared more easily.
\n\u2022 Bummer for those who used this feature positively.
\n\u2022 New account discovery is possible only by the \u201cExplore\u201d tab from now onwards.<\/p>\n