Instagram Interface Analysis
When first opening Instagram, the app takes you immediately to the home page where you can view posts from accounts you follow. I would argue that this page on the app is the most unpredictable, while also heavily relying the most on the Instagram algorithm. At its beginning, the Instagram home page was pretty simple: posts were ordered by date/time uploaded. However, as Instagram evolved, this page has become quite confusing to users. Now, Instagram seems to order the posts sporadically using an algorithm that puts posts at the top of the screen that exhibit high engagement in general, while taking into consideration the user’s own level of previous interaction with the uploader. Similarly, it appears as though the stories at the top of the page are also ordered in such a way that pushes accounts you interact more with to the front. Design and layout wise, I think it’s also interesting to note how the aesthetic of the app has slowly evolved to appear very similar to Apple’s IOS design. As Instagram is one of the most used apps across the globe, it may stand to argue that they are attempting to further appeal and create ease to the majority of consumers who most likely utilize Apple products.
Besides the home page, Instagram makes it fairly simple to toggle your way to its other features. At the bottom of the page are very simplistic icons that direct you to the other main parts of Instagram. The microscope icon, next to the home page icon, represents Instagram’s explorer page. The explorer page is another part of Instagram that heavily relies on the algorithm. I personally find the explorer page super interesting as it curates the collection of posts from accounts you do not follow but may be interested in and pushes those photos to users. Additionally, because you are not actively following the accounts whose posts you’re seeing on this page, the explorer tab is a grid unlike the home page (allowing you to pick and choose which posts you’d like to enlarge). One aspect of the explorer page that is super intriguing is its ability to create mass spreadability. As Jenkins describes, “Today’s teens — the so-called Napster generation — aren’t the only ones who are confused about where to draw the lines here; media companies are giving out profoundly mixed signals because they really can’t decide what kind of relationships they want to have with this new kind of consumer. They want us to look at but not touch, buy but not use, media content” (Jenkins 138). Jenkins brings up the interesting dynamic that seems to arise between consumers and companies. Essentially, this quote is saying that media companies want the free promotion fans can offer when taking media content into their own hands, but not to the point where it becomes somewhat copyrighted. This concept is relevant when it comes to Instagram, as it allows us to think about the line between viral fan art and copyrighted content (and how Instagram doesn’t benefit from pushing one or the other more so on users’ explorer pages). For example, recently, because I have been really into looking at posts about Squid Game, I was shown a super cool Squid Game edit on my explorer page. Upon clicking on the image to see the full post, I saw that the photo had nearly 600,000 likes. However, when I visited this fan’s account, the user only had around 15k followers. This was mind blowing to me because posts that usually generate that many likes must come from influencers or celebrities with millions of followers. Essentially, this is an example of how powerful this aspect of Instagram (and social media in general) can be for users. Additionally, it shows how Instagram will push media content made by fans that these users do not directly own.
The next icon users can utilize is the new reels page the app has recently integrated. In short, this page looks exactly like TikTok’s For You Page. While it is obvious to everyone that Instagram is ripping off TikTok by launching reels (similar to the way it did to Snapchat back when it stole the idea of stories), by comparing the two platforms, I noticed that TikTok’s interface is very similar to Instagram’s as well. If you look at the bottom of the screen on both, you will notice that they have identical icons that represent pretty much the same type of page. This was interesting to me because it made me wonder if TikTok’s (the newer platform) near identical layout to Instagram’s justifies Instagram’s new reels. Additionally, these two platforms constantly updating their interfaces so that they look similar to each other may be an example of them remediating off of one another.
After the reels tab is the Instagram shopping tab. This page is also relatively new to Instagram’s interface. Essentially, the shopping page works similarly to the explorer page, however, instead of recommending posts you may like, it recommends products based off of previous in app activity. This activity may be tracked from how long a user looks at an ad presented to them between stories or posts. As pictured below, the Instagram shopping experience works its way around the app and is not only localized on this page. Now, Instagram will run ads for products on the home page (between posts and stories). Users’ interactions with these ads may inform the products that are initially pushed under the shopping tab.
Finally, while the profile tab may seem mundane and self explanatory, I really like how it mimics the feel of the rest of the app, however, is more personalized than the explorer and shopping pages. In other words, the layout of the profile page is identical to that of the explorer page (grid), yet it’s a collection of your posts (so essentially the exact opposite of the explorer page). The profile page is also the only one of these pages that does not rely on the algorithm to display posts. In this way, the profile page is exactly what you make of it and gives the user the most creative freedom. From post order, bio, profile picture, and highlights, the user really gets to decide what goes where and how it looks. I find this significant because the ability to be creative and in control with your own profile has become a big part of influencers and businesses learning how to appeal to audiences in their own individual manners.
