Instagram’s adding a new element to Reels which could end up being a disaster, or it could encourage more engagement.
Over the past few weeks, some Instagram users have noted a new indicator at the top right of the Reels playback window which shows images of profile bubbles representing your friends, with a heart or comment icon overlaid on each.
This is a new way to show you content that your connections have liked or commented on in the app, and if you tap through on that indicator, you’ll be able to view posts that your friends have engaged with.
As you can see in the second image, the idea here is to encourage engagement, so Instagram has put the reply bar up front on these posts, so you can easily respond to your friend/s in relation to their interaction with that content.
And it does make some sense, in showing you content that both of you may be interested in, and sparking that initial engagement.
But it also seems risky. I mean, what if Instagram shows you that your friend has liked some totally offensive meme, or if it shows your jealous partner that you’ve liked a Reel of another person that seems suspicious?
To be clear, the functionality won’t show your connections everything that you’ve liked in the app, just a selection, and I suspect that IG’s algorithms will be attuned to avoid situations like these, on potentially damaging content.
But it still seems like it could reveal more than some users would like, and for little gain, as I doubt it’s going to spark a heap more engagement.
But Instagram obviously thinks that it’s onto a winner, and in line with its focus on enhancing “Creativity and Connection”, it’s keen to try out new ways to spark that interaction, and get more people being more social in-stream.
Also, it can be a little confusing. The first time you see it, it may seem like the content that you’re viewing has been liked by the friends listed at the top right, but you actually have to tap through on that indicator to see the posts that they’ve engaged with.
Just an additional note based on my experience with it thus far.
