Instagram Stories Will Succeed, Even Though You Probably Hate It

Instagram’s near carbon copy of the Snapchat platform is annoying. Not only does Stories add clutter to the design, but it also prods an eye roll at what is just the latest attempt at capturing, and perhaps defining, the millennial spirit.

In almost every way, though, Instagram needed this update. As everyone knows, Instagram is losing the photo sharing war, in terms of photos shared on the app per day. But, perhaps most importantly, they’re also losing the vital ability to define what it means to share.

In simple terms, this is a game of public relations. Certainly, Instagram could have thought up something that was the least bit different — an amendment that didn’t beg to be the subject of every ridiculous meme on twitter. But the goal of Stories isn’t to add an entirely new dimension to the platform as much as it is about pissing people off — and getting them to talk about it.

Unlike a company vying for market potential, Instagram doesn’t have to worry about losing users due to platform infringement. Instagram users — Facebook users — hold long established opinions about the platform and while there may be a pessimistic first reaction to Stories, very few people will stop using Instagram because of the update.

Many Snapchat users also have Instagram accounts, and the blatant similarity between the two products will enable a seamless integration of Stories onto Instagram’s platform — in other words, Stories is not going to hard to figure out because, chances are, you’ve been using it for quite some time now.

However, what Instagram can’t predict is what will happen to its platform now that Snapchat has repositioned how we think about photo sharing (and, clearly, they’ve been pondering this for some time — remember Slingshot?). So, in this sense, the Stories update is as much a concession as it is an advancement.

Instagram has long represented a place for self-definition — where photos are staged, filtered and edited to convey a lifestyle or persona. It is, in full essence, a public relations medium: a place to present the “best” version of yourself. But Instagram has, like Twitter, began to suffer from what is known as “context collapse” — a social media phenomena where a user, communicating to an infinite audience, loses the ability to adjust tone and presentation to fit into the massive social context.

For all of its filters, the appeal of Snapchat, and easily it’s most defining characteristic, is its unfiltered element: it is instantaneous and temporary. Stories and Snaps are not meant to define a persona as much as they represent the ability to constantly and selectively share. As paradoxical as it might seem, Snapchat is the most “real” manifestation of life in the social media paradigm. And as we’ve all come to realize, taking photos with the expectation of throwing them away is what defines the current social market.

The Stories update, which undermines the premise of Instagram’s original platform — a place to showcase and curate a lasting identity — is, perhaps, the most telling component of change. The platform was made popular in a social mindset that valued lasting aesthetic over temporal identity. And while it may seem that they’ve lagged behind, it was only a matter of time before the social behemoth laid claim to the revolving door of digital narcissism they, in many ways, created.

Even if Stories fails, Instagram will only have lost time in development. If they’re successful, Snapchat will have to push the limits of their bonus features in order to remain ahead — something they haven’t had to do without real competition. In the end, Instagram is betting — hoping — that Stories will help push its loyal user base to reinstate it as the “serious” place to snap and discard. Having people relentlessly shame it online? That can’t hurt, either.