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Is the New Instagram Update a New Form of Dark Pattern?
In the last days, the most recent Instagram update has been in the news for the worst reasons. Many users and influencers have publicly spoken out their dissatisfaction, namely James Charles, who, in a rant video, advised his followers not to update their apps.
At the center of these negative opinions is the new layout, where the basic Instagram options — camera and notifications — have been removed from the bottom menu bar and instead are displayed in the upper-right corner of the home page, next to the direct message button.
The new bottom menu features the “Reels” (mimicking Instagram’s competitor TikTok) and “Shop” button. This means that these two options are now easily accessible on every screen, while the camera and the notifications button are inaccessible in some tabs.
Instagram is very explicit with its intentions on its blog: to prioritize Reels and its e-commerce platform over traditional posts.
The company states that this change was taken in order to keep up with the fast-paced evolution of technology use patterns. However, this approach seems to be forcing the users to have new intentions when using the app and not otherwise. It even makes me wonder if we are facing a new type of dark pattern.
In my recent post about Dark Patterns, I showed how Instagram uses the Roach Motel pattern. Indeed, we already know this company has no problem in resorting to dark patterns to reach their goals. However, if Instagram is being honest about its intentions with this update, we cannot consider it a dark pattern, right?
