Cofounder Kevin Systrom Believes Instagram Has Lost Its Soul!

If you have watched the Netflix series Emily In Paris, you may have observed how Instagram helped Emily become a social media sensation. In fact, not just Emily but Instagram has been a secret weapon of many influencer marketers and brands out there. However, Instagram's cofounder Kevin Systrom's thoughts are a bit different. In a recent podcast interview with Kara Swisher, Systrom said that Instagram has "lost the soul!"

#WaitWhat

According to Systrom, Instagram was once a place where people went to see what their friends and family were doing. However, it has now become a business apparatus where creators and brands use the platform to make money. Systrom's biggest regret is how commercial the app has become. "I think we've lost the soul of what made Instagram Instagram," Systrom said.

"My biggest regret, I think, at Instagram is how commercial it got," Systrom continued. According to him, the problem is “Instagram's incentives are to go to more commercial, more creators, more deals, more ad dollars," which can have unintended social consequences. "That, to me, is not the Instagram we started," Systrom said.

#CommercializationKilledIt


Although Instagram's cofounder may be unhappy with the app's current state, it remains one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide, especially for social media and influencer marketing. 

According to Statista, celebrities, athletes and brands use Instagram for promotion and fan connection since social media marketing has become one of the most successful forms of digital marketing. Besides, Instagram was the second most used social media platform by marketers in 2022, with 79 percent of respondents saying they used the app to promote their businesses. Besides, Statista also forecasted by 2025 there will be 1.44 billion monthly active users of Instagram, which would be equivalent to 31.2% of global internet users!

#StillTheGOAT
What's worth noticing is that Systrom's thoughts on Instagram come almost five years after he left the company in 2018, following growing tensions with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Now, according to him, BeReal, a social media app, is an ideal alternative for people who want to be themselves and catch themselves in real moments.

Although Systrom may have concerns about the direction Instagram has taken, it is still an immensely popular app that has changed the social media landscape forever. Only time will tell if new apps such as BeReal can take over and capture the essence of what made Instagram unique.

Do you think Instagram has actually 'lost its soul'? Would you consider using alternatives such as BeReal?

#BeReal and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!