Time flies when you’re working 9-5, trying to eat healthy, exercise regularly, and have a social life… That’s the saying, right? With a jam-packed schedule, it’s hard to find time to stay on top of the current trends, even if you’re in the industry. To help you make the most of your time, we’ve gathered some of the most recent and relevant updates we’ve seen in social media (trust us, it’s worth the short read!).

1. New ‘Series’ option for IGTV  

Instagram recently added a “Series” option for IGTV which allows anyone to produce ongoing content, a lot like Youtube. The only real change is the options you have for organizing your IGTV videos, as now you can organize your Series on a separate page with a separate badge and series name. Similar to Netflix, when a viewer is done watching an episode, the next episode will be automatically recommended for continued viewing.

2. New ‘Create’ Mode for Instagram Stories.

Instagram just rolled out a new format for the Stories camera, which makes GIFS, Stickers and Polls available in the main function bar, just swipe left on the bottom from “normal” to “create” and you will see the update. This accessibility speaks to the push to highlight the creative options that IG Stories provide.

3. Instagram launches Threads 

You’ve probably heard about this by now, but IG recently launched a new app called Threads. This new app is for your Close Friends only and it allows you the message and update those specific people. With Threads you can select either Status or Auto Status where you have the ability to set an emoji as an “away” message, set your location, let your friends know if your battery is running low, etc. If you select Auto Status, Threads has the ability to pull information from your phone (like your location) to make a status for you. 

4. Instagram now has dark mode. 

For all you late night Instagram scrollers, this should excite you! This new update will allow you to be able to switch your IG to a black background, making it easier on your eyes. If you have an iPhone or Android that’s been updated, you can enable dark mode through settings. You can choose to make it automatically change with time, or input your own time preferences. For iPhones, you instead must either: go to “Display & Brightness,” ask Siri to turn it on, or hold down the brightness level and a notification will pop up that will prompt you to switch. For Androids, you can activate dark mode by going to your “Display” settings. 

5. Instagram now has a ‘Restrict option’ 

This year in particular we’ve seen that most social platforms are trying to make their platforms a more positive place. Instagram took the next step with their new “restrict” feature that allows you to block trolls without their being aware. When you “restrict” accounts, comments are only seen by you and the writer. The account that’s restricted won’t know it is being restricted unless it is observed from a different account. 

6. Instagram Removes its ‘Following’ Tab 

This update allows people to focus less on who/what people are liking, and more on the content that is being produced. This seems to be another way Instagram is elevating its platform to be more creatively focused and less negative.

 

We get it, life gets in the way. So, pro tip: subscribe to different tech / social media websites that send weekly and daily updates to your email. Even if you don’t have time to read the whole article, you can see the headline to stay up-to-date! Some of our favorite newsletters are: Social Media Today and Buzzfeed. Tech Crunch and Mashable don’t have newsletters but you can easily search “social media” or “Instagram” to look quickly at the day’s top headlines. 

Blog post written by Account Coordinator, Maile Resta.