Instagram boss Adam Mosseri probably didn't expect that: a few days ago he posted a video message on Twitter in which he explained that the app, which belongs to the Facebook group Meta, wants to focus more on videos in the future.

The user experience should become more “immersive”, the content tailored to the vertical smartphone screen.

"Mobile first" is the future.

The new timeline is already being tested by some users, so please comment on how you find it.

Andrea Diener

Editor in the Feuilleton.

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As of May 9th, there wasn't a single positive comment under Mosseri's video.

Instead, frustrated users resort to capital letters to vent their decided dislike.

Unfortunately, the author of this article is one of those in the testing group, so she knows firsthand what the commenters are suffering.

If these innovations are really implemented permanently, which unfortunately is to be feared - when has a platform ever listened to its users?

– Instagram ruined Instagram for many.

Quiet place full of beautiful things

You have to briefly visualize how and what this app is used for.

There are several ways of displaying content: the so-called stories, in which vertical images or videos remain available for 24 hours, but can also be stored in bundles.

This feature once buried Snapchat, and it's very popular.

Surveys or quiz elements can be implemented in the stories, which is often used.

The stories are interactive, fast-paced, look a bit trashy, like to blink and allow others to share their content.

Longer videos end up in the "reels".

There are also the static image posts, which allow for medium-length text posts.

They are used by the Bookstagram community, among others, to discuss books.

Photographers post their pictures here.

This timeline is the quiet place full of beautiful things and appreciative comments.

In fact, Instagram is the least toxic of all social networks, which is why it is so popular with female users.

Ironically, this oasis of calm and widespread friendliness, which is rare on the Internet, is a thorn in the side of Instagram bosses.

They are looking at the Chinese app Tiktok, which is very popular with the younger target group.

Tiktok is a short video platform that is quite colorful and fidgety.

In principle, there is little to be said against this, but Instagram already has functions for vertical fidget videos, i.e. the stories and reels.

And most users know very well how to distinguish between the playout methods and use them in parallel for different content.

You make an effort for the picture posts, the stories are done quickly on the go.

What is new now is that the pictures lose their calm white frame.

You get a dark gradient at the bottom edge, in which the caption now runs in white, but only the first line.

The rest you have to click first, then scroll.

This is not only at the expense of the image, which can no longer be seen in its entirety, but also at the expense of the text.

Many large media outlets now have to think of new strategies – the previously popular quote tiles have become unreadable because text is now on top of text.

If one or two comments were previously displayed, these are now also hidden and appear in a new window.

Yes, that's a lot of clicks.

So far you could scroll through it in a relaxed manner, now each picture needs several clicks, you move stuff up and down and after five minutes at the latest you don't feel like it anymore.

Yes, clicks are currency.

The more clicks a post generates, the more interaction, the better the thing to market.

But there is one currency that is even more valuable than clicks, and that is user affection, that is the feelings and expectations with which they open the app.

Instagram was valued for the ease of presenting images, that was its brand essence and has been around for a very long time.

This is also reflected in the effort that users put into a post or story, and in how lovingly their home page is polished.

The fact that Instagram now wants to abolish exactly what it is valued for most by its users may not even be that smart from a business point of view.