Dear Instagram, Watching Reels From Friends Shouldn't Feel Like A Chore

Instagram has been on a feature rollout spree, introducing everything from the ability to repost your favourite Reels and Posts, to a Snapchat-style Map feature, and even a new dedicated tab that lets users see what kinds of videos their friends have been liking—or Reposting. Some features resonate with users, like Story Highlights, Collabs, and the option to share content exclusively with "Close Friends". Others, however, fizzle out of the memory—much like the ending of Game of Thrones—case in point: Instagram Channels and Notes.

As the platform starts testing a new app layout that puts DMS and Reels front and centre, the influx of new features isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Still, there is one feature the platform sorely lacks; one that could not only enhance the user experience but also help save a lot of friendships and relationships from getting bitter. Yes, I am talking about some much-needed improvement to handle the bombardment of Reels our friends and partners (or catch feels, situationships, orbiters, sneaky links, and the likes) send without a break, sometimes culminating in an hour-long homework.

Sending each other memes and Reels we find funny (or think the other would find interesting) has become an easy way to stay connected with people we struggle to catch up with because of our busy lives. No caption, no context—just a Reel. It could be announced as the official means of saying, "Hey, I still care. I saw this video and thought of you."

However, there is a reason why the generation plagued with Doomscrolling for hours finds it hard to watch the Reels sent to us by others.

Instagram is designed in a way that you keep on watching Reels one after the other, courtesy of a powerful tool called swipe-up. However, when you watch Reels sent by others, you have to go to the chat, tap on a Reel, watch it, come back, leave a reaction, and then watch the next one—all while Instagram tries to make you watch more Reels by swiping up and sending it in the same chat.

Instead of following the tiresome task of coming back to the chat after watching a single Reel, Instagram could just replace the Blend feature that combines the algorithm of two people in a shared private chat and allow us to keep swiping through to watch only the Reels present sent via the DM in that particular chat. Oh, and they could also add an extra reaction button on Reels and carousel posts we see through DMs, allowing us to leave reactions that only reflect inside the chat for specific videos or posts.

The upcoming user interface change from Instagram acknowledges that DMs and Reels are the platform’s most frequently used features. Sharing Reels is a well-known behaviour that combines the two, and the platform has been steadily introducing updates to support this, such as a redesigned UI to make the action easier, as well as the not-so-popular Blend feature.

While not everyone may feel comfortable sharing their personalised video-suggestion algorithm—tailored to their 'specific interests'—most people would likely welcome improvements that make watching Reels sent by others more enjoyable, rather than a tedious task.