The recent addition of the ‘Stories’ feature on Instagram that has led to division in the social media fanbase.
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The world has taken another huge step toward the social media apocalypse. Wars have been waged, alliances have been made. Two of the biggest social media corporations have declared war, even though according to most students, there is already a divide based on what each platform has to offer.
Instagram has launched a new feature that has created chaos all around: it has implemented the ‘stories’ feature from Snapchat.
Some justify the action: “Snapchat doesn’t own the snap stories, so I don’t see it being a huge deal for Instagram to have the stories as well,” said sophomore, Alexa Sales.
On the other hand, some do not agree with this change. Junior Sophia Vitale says, “I believe that it was uncalled for and not a good look on their part. They are now known as coppiers of a different social media.”
Snapchat has lost 3 million users in this battle. Many believe that it happened for more practical reasons, such as the ongoing updates or the start or the growing popularity of other social media, while others believe Instagram has more to offer. Vitale says that the reason was Instagram politics. Instagram shows the possible future candidates for the President of the United States. She explains that on Snapchat all one sees are inane stories like, “Who has a bigger butt: Kim or Kylie Kardashian?” She said that she believed that people preferred to read about current events, rather than celebrity fluff.
Some argue on Instagram’s behalf because it has more to offer. Sales says, “ Instagram has a wider variety of things you can do, and Snapchat is just an app where you can post stuff for only 24 hours.”
Others argue on Snapchat’s behalf. Nikola Borovcanin, a sophomore, says that he prefers Snapchat because it’s an easier way to text friends and that one can post about what they are doing in a simpler fashion.
There are a few who look at the situation from a business point of view. Sophomore Bri Alteri says, “It’s unfair to steal someone else’s thing, and I can understand why Snapchat is upset, but also this is a business world, and Instagram needed a way to up their game so they brought out stories.”
Both companies, though using the same feature, are still notably different. Junior Abeeha Zaidi says, “Instagram allows you to view other people’s profiles and allows you to explore more, and Snapchat limits your interaction.” Alteri, however, says, “I like to put all my stuff on my private story, and for me, it’s easier to have a private story on Snapchat instead of Instagram.”
Junior Reem Almosbeh, says that Instagram is different than Snapchat and that sometimes there is nothing to do on Snapchat because nobody is active, but there are always things to look at on Instagram, which makes it seem like the better choice. Junior Ellis Nunez says, “I love Snapchat because it brings me closer to my friends than Instagram does.”
Sophomore Erica Braden says that the Bitmoji games are what she likes most on Snapchat, but Sales says that the “explore” page on Instagram never ceases to entertain.
