What The Hell Is Going On With Instagram?

If you're stressed about the 'recent changes' to Instagram and don't know what it will mean for you, we've got it all covered.

Changes to our favourite photo-sharing app were announced yesterday and online chaos has ensued. Guys, stop panicking. Everything is going to be fine.

Rumours are running wild and avid Instagrammers are losing it. ‘Will our posts become invisible?’ ‘Will we lose all of our followers?’ ‘Will I ever get over 20 likes again?’ ‘Is this the end of Instagram as we know it?’

The uncertainty and confusion teamed with a wave of Instagram celebrities begging followers to edit their settings in order to remain visible has thrown the Instaworld into panic.

It’s time for everyone to calm down. Here are the facts: what’s really going on with Instagram and why there’s no need to worry… just yet!

Firstly, no changes have actually been made yet. We repeat: no changes have been made. Although changes will be made, the idea is being introduced slowly.

‘We’re listening and we assure you nothing is changing with your feed right now’ Instagram tweeted to the world. Phewph, that’s a relief.

So when the fateful day arrives, what will actually be different? Well, honestly just the algorithm. Instagram newsfeeds will shift to become more like Facebook, which bought Instagram in 2012.

Posts will be sorted according to users’ interests and the accounts they ‘like’ the most, instead of the current system which lists them chronologically.

Your images won’t be hidden, your profiles won’t become invisible, but your posts will be prioritised on best friends’ and keen followers’ timelines, making them appear at the very top, while they'll be much lower down on others’.

It is for this reason that Instagram celebrities have been urging their followers to turn on notifications. That way a follower will receive an alert every time the account in question posts up a new shot – the Instagram equivalent of a Facebook starred friend.

It is pretty clear that the new system has caused a lot of upset, with thousands of people taking to social media to voice their anger. ‘I hate this new update Instagram is slowly trying to introduce’ Kylie Jenner posted, ‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it – I don’t really understand it and there has to be another motive because you follow people for a reason.’

She’s not the only one to have had a strong reaction to the changes. An online petition has emerged called Keep Instagram Chronological, already supported by 323,000 signatures.

Changes to social media always cause controversy (#dislikebutton-gate), but with anti-change arguments trending and pro-chronological campaigns gaining momentum, we have a feeling that this debate isn’t going away overnight. Good luck with that one Instagram.