Isn't it nice (or pretty special) when someone sends you a reel or a meme? I mean – they saw something, they thought of you, and pressed the sharing button.
The little connection moment, which split second, where your friend has paused their scrolling because something reminds them of you, is exactly what's new Instagram Blend The feature is quietly erased.
And honestly, I'm not impressed.
What is Instagram blend?
FYI, Instagram rolled before “Blend” feature sitting right inside your DMS.
It allows you and your friends to create a shared feed of Instagram reels, curated based on the content suggestions that each individual is specific. Once you have tapped the small icon at the top of your chat and send an invitation (which someone else needs to accept), you will get a joint feed that is updated with new content -day content.
Each reel has a name that informs you who originally recommended for – so if you watch cat videos (I do), your name will appear next to those clips.
Plus, Instagram also sends notifications whenever new content is added to your mixture.
According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, the goal is to help “Instagram is a place where people connect to creativity.”
Now, if you're with me, haven't we seen it somewhere before?
Yes, Spotify did it first (and Instagram hid the same name)
Back in August 2021, at the height of Pandmia, when we were all desperately looking for a connection, Spotify launched its own feature called – yes, you guessed it correctly – Blend.
In the Music Streaming App, this feature allows friends to combine their tastes with music with a shared playlist, complete with “taste match scores” to compare listening preferences.
Meta has a long history of “Borrow” Features from other platforms. I mean Snapchat stories, Tiktok's short -form video format (reels), and now the Spotify blend (They didn't even bother to change the name).
As Arjun Narayen, the Spotify Product Manager, described their version of Blend: “It helps people find common land with each other … Every time I make a blend with someone, there is a wonder -a moment when we discover which artists and songs we both like and can do with how we discovered that artist”.
Now it sounds meaningful – discovering something about each other by shared taste.
Then, why Blend Instagram The mark is smiling
The answer is – Time.
Because we are no longer in 2021.
The Instagram has continued to develop features that prioritize the algorithm contact with the real connection, and the mixture continues with this stressful pattern.
Pandemya's motivation time to make features such as the Spotify blend that is so popular has now reached the stressful levels, with studies showing adults spending up to a third of their waking time on digital devices.
The excessive time of this screen is actively damaging to our relationships. Research has noted that it increases emotional connectivity, misinformation, and conflict, especially between significant partners.
There's even a term for someone's ignoring while using your phone – “Phubbing” (A blend of “Phone” and “Snubbing”).
Motivated research shows that the time spent on smartphones results in less significant conversation with established partners and even causing people to smile less than others.
The WHO published a report in 2024 announced that more than 1 in 10 youth (11%) showed signs of problematic social media behavior, difficulty controlling their use, and experiencing negative consequences.
More about these numbers is rising – the proportion classified as problematic social media users jumped from 7% to 2018 to 11% in 2022.
If the meta pays a little attention to what is happening in society, they notice a newly growing desire for young people to move Offline for relationships and friendships.
There was a rising conversation around the lack of “Third space” – Places that are not home or working where people can gather and connect.
A teenager shared his experience about the third spaces, putting it perfectly: “Without a third space, people have fewer opportunities to meet new people, engage in conversations, or simply exist in a shared environment. Instead, many people retreat to online spaces, speeding polarization and separation.”
Young people are more aware of how digital connections failed to fulfill their social needs.
As Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, regional director for Europe: “It is clear that social media can have both positive and negative consequences to the health and well -being of young people”.
The challenge is to find the right balance – something that seems not interested in responding to features such Blend It only deepens our digital dependencies and jobs.
And, it presses the true value of a Shared the reel
The main problem with the Instagram blend is a completely misunderstanding of why we share content with friends in the first place.
When your friend sends you a reel of a cat that makes something ridiculous -They, the value is out of content – it's in fact that they I thought of you.
The giver -free moment where they kept quiet, remembered one thing about you, and act to share it with you – now that's what we call Real connection.
By introducing the mixture, Instagram replaces the active thought process with a passive, experience-powered by the algorithm.
Instead of “I saw it and you thought,” It becomes “The algorithm determines that we can both enjoy it.”
See the difference?
One is a human connection, the other is an algorithm suggestion.
But people like Person ConnectionNot algorithm
The irony is that the meta launches this feature to help people “Connect” At a time the research clearly shows that young people are willing to pay money to meet friends on offline.
They are looking for a real human connection because they recognize that sending memes throughout the day is not the same as having a deeper conversation that is important for well-being.
Research on the impact of social media on psychological well-being has been found that while there are some positive effects by bonding social capital, 'digital-only' connections often create what the term researchers “disembodied disconnect”.
This division separates effective users of digital platforms from those who struggle with relationship difficulties, experiencing adverse effects such as talking and weakening offline social relationships.
Closing of thoughts
Instagram blend feature is improperly inspired or moved in the right direction.
Instead of helping us create a deeper connection, it replaces the small but significant moment of human thinking (“This is what makes you think”) In sharing the algorithm.
As a user commented on the Instagram feature feature: “Reels bhej bhej ke hi baat chit hota tha, ab same reel aayega toh koi kyun hi bhejega?” (“The talks used to turn around sharing reels, but now if we get the same, why is it even busy sending them?”)
That question gets everything wrong with the mixture. By automating what should be a personal option to share, Instagram does not enhance our connections-it will further dilute them into contacts run by the algorithm.
Perhaps instead of designing features that keep us glued to our screens, tech companies should ask how they can truly enhance the human connection instead of replacing it with algorithmic simulations.
But it really needs to listen to what people want and need – something that doesn't seem to bother the meta before launching the mixture.
Finally, it's almost about what they want, not what we are Really Need.
