Instagram Co-Founder Says The App Has 'Lost The Soul'

Credit: @kevin/Instagram

Instagram’s co-founder believes the social media app has lost its charm, making it a point that he is not happy with the direction of the platform.

The photo and video-sharing social networking service is now owned by Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, Inc., the same technology conglomerate that owns Facebook and WhatsApp.

Credit: @kevin/Instagram

The app was launched on October 10 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and was an instant hit with the public as it became the main app for people wanting to document their moments with friends and family.

There are now over one billion Instagram users.

Credit: @kevin/Instagram

Now, we all have witnessed the sponsored ad from celebrities and influencers on the app, but, Systrom is not happy with the way the advertisements have taken over the app.

“I think we’ve lost the soul of what made Instagram Instagram,” Systrom mused during an interview with tech reporter Kara Swisher on the On with Kara Swisher podcast.

The area of the current version of Instagram that is the biggest disappointment to the computer programmer and entrepreneur is the focus on ‘commercial’ and ‘more ad dollars’ among other issues.

Credit: @kevin/Instagram

“My biggest regret, I think, at Instagram is how commercial it got.”

He added that Instagram’s ‘incentives are to go to more commercial, more creators, more deals, more ad dollars,’ which can result in unintended social consequences.

This has, according to Systrom, ‘focused the energy on people living apparently amazing lives with no bounds, doing the fanciest things, looking the best, wearing the fanciest clothes.’

Focusing on life’s curated highlights only creates a ‘terrifying’ dynamic, he explained, in which Instagram users believe they are seeing people’s real lives and not just the best moments.

Systrom added: “Life is really hard and whatever people post on Instagram is the tip of the iceberg. It’s the race to the bottom of who can be the most perfect.”

The problem has filtered its way through to Systrom’s own Instagram feed, as he said he has seen friends who used to upload pictures of their daily lives turn to posting “#ads”.

Systrom said: “That, to me, is not the Instagram we started.”

The former Instagram CEO resigned on 24 September 2018 after selling the app to Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion. He is now one of the co-founders of the AI-powered news app Artifact, which was launched at the start of the year.