The photo and video sharing platform announced on 20th August that it is testing Instagram recommended posts in the News Feed. This, as it seems, is a new way to see what kind of content the target audience likes and enjoys. The recommendations are generally based on the people we follow on Instagram or photos or videos that are popular among the ones we like.
Instagram recommended posts will appear at the fag end of your News Feed, that is, once you’ve devoured all the new posts. Once you come across the message “Recommended for you” you will have the option to view your past posts or keep scrolling for other recommendations. And if you love a post enough that you want to follow the Instagrammer, there’ll be a blue button tapping which you’ll be able to do so. However, since this feature is still in its testing mode, it’s not made available to all users, so don’t worry if you don’t get it just yet.
Our goal is to make Feed the best place to share and connect with the people and interests that matter most to you. Now with recommended posts, you can see even more of what’s being shared by our community. This test will be rolling out over the next few days. We’ll be making product revisions based on your feedback and hope to bring this to more people in the coming weeks. – Instagram
So, now, once you’ve seen all the latest posts, Instagram will use the opportunity to highlight a selection of content that would normally appear in your Explore tab, customized to your interests. Many saw it as a nice initiative to manage your usage better, so you will know once you’ve seen all the new posts and won’t scroll the feed aimlessly (probably).
So this kind of checks the excess amount of time we devote to mindless scrolling, as it gives you a prompt instead of showing things in a continuous stream. That Instagram has seen fit to roll out its ‘All Caught Up’ and Instagram recommended posts tools suggests that users have taken a different approach on that platform, and arguably a more mature approach to social media overall, unlike Facebook or Twitter which let you follow limitless number of pages and people, cramming your news feed with albeit irrelevant and, often, stupid posts.
