Surfacing quantifiable data can be a powerful driver of behaviour, but it can also cause stress, comparison and feelings of inadequacy. Instagram understand this and now offer a way to avoid such discomfort. Just how does it work at a behavioural level?
If we go further than just cute cat videos, in Instagram we find a remarkable app for self-expression where we can publicise what we like, what we are, our values and our emotions. However, the side effect of this is that it also promotes a menacing comparison between popular users and ourselves.
You don’t need to scour the dust of the academic journals to find links between mental health and social media; you just need to reflect on your own experience. For instance, I’m sure you’ve seen posts with thousands of likes… yet you get far fewer likes than you expect when you post something yourself. As you may already know from Feedback Loops, we look for information that clarifies our actions. Still, this insight stops being helpful when the feedback has a detrimental effect on our mental health.
To ease this comparison pressure and feedback slavery, Instagram released a feature allowing users to remove the likes count on the posts. Users can now only see the username that has liked the post and “others”, instead of a number.
Don’t want to see perfect honeymoon posts from your old high school sweetheart going viral? Now you don’t have to! By hiding the number of likes, you’re following the old adage of ‘what you don’t see doesn’t hurt you’.
You might recognise this as the Salience Nugget, but it’s somewhat different from the classic use: typically, we would use Salience to highlight what we want the user to see. Salience arises from the contrast between what you highlight versus its surroundings. But hiding something to make it fall into oblivion can also be an elegant use of this bias. By shrouding the number of views, Instagram casts aside the counter that may cause uneasiness in some users, thus alleviating the discomfort of social comparison.
It’s behaviourally-significant to mention that this isn’t on by default. Instead, you can choose whether you want to hide the number of views giving you autonomy and an extra level of control. However, we can question if this is such a beneficial feature that can improve the mental health of its users, why isn’t it on by default?
This Nugget In The Wild may indeed be an excellent example of Salience, Feedback Loops and Autonomy combined for a positive emotional outcome. But there’s a drawback. Though Instagram has created a feature to reduce comparison pressure, it’s also hidden inside a maze of menus, making it harder to access than you’d like. We need to acknowledge the irony that Instagram hid a valuable and good feature that hides something possibly harmful. It makes you wonder if implementing this option is a genuine attempt to give Instagram users autonomy and control over their feed.
Comfort
Experience
Out of sight, out of mind
Surfacing quantifiable data can be a powerful driver of behaviour, but it can also cause stress, comparison and feelings of inadequacy. Instagram understand this and now offer a way to avoid such discomfort. Just how does it work at a behavioural level?
If we go further than just cute cat videos, in Instagram we find a remarkable app for self-expression where we can publicise what we like, what we are, our values and our emotions. However, the side effect of this is that it also promotes a menacing comparison between popular users and ourselves.
You don’t need to scour the dust of the academic journals to find links between mental health and social media; you just need to reflect on your own experience. For instance, I’m sure you’ve seen posts with thousands of likes… yet you get far fewer likes than you expect when you post something yourself. As you may already know from Feedback Loops, we look for information that clarifies our actions. Still, this insight stops being helpful when the feedback has a detrimental effect on our mental health.
To ease this comparison pressure and feedback slavery, Instagram released a feature allowing users to remove the likes count on the posts. Users can now only see the username that has liked the post and “others”, instead of a number.
Don’t want to see perfect honeymoon posts from your old high school sweetheart going viral? Now you don’t have to! By hiding the number of likes, you’re following the old adage of ‘what you don’t see doesn’t hurt you’.
You might recognise this as the Salience Nugget, but it’s somewhat different from the classic use: typically, we would use Salience to highlight what we want the user to see. Salience arises from the contrast between what you highlight versus its surroundings. But hiding something to make it fall into oblivion can also be an elegant use of this bias. By shrouding the number of views, Instagram casts aside the counter that may cause uneasiness in some users, thus alleviating the discomfort of social comparison.
It’s behaviourally-significant to mention that this isn’t on by default. Instead, you can choose whether you want to hide the number of views giving you autonomy and an extra level of control. However, we can question if this is such a beneficial feature that can improve the mental health of its users, why isn’t it on by default?
This Nugget In The Wild may indeed be an excellent example of Salience, Feedback Loops and Autonomy combined for a positive emotional outcome. But there’s a drawback. Though Instagram has created a feature to reduce comparison pressure, it’s also hidden inside a maze of menus, making it harder to access than you’d like. We need to acknowledge the irony that Instagram hid a valuable and good feature that hides something possibly harmful. It makes you wonder if implementing this option is a genuine attempt to give Instagram users autonomy and control over their feed.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows y
ou to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
Comfort
Experience
Out of sight, out of mind
Surfacing quantifiable data can be a powerful driver of behaviour, but it can also cause stress, comparison and feelings of inadequacy. Instagram understand this and now offer a way to avoid such discomfort. Just how does it work at a behavioural level?
If we go further than just cute cat videos, in Instagram we find a remarkable app for self-expression where we can publicise what we like, what we are, our values and our emotions. However, the side effect of this is that it also promotes a menacing comparison between popular users and ourselves.
You don’t need to scour the dust of the academic journals to find links between mental health and social media; you just need to reflect on your own experience. For instance, I’m sure you’ve seen posts with thousands of likes… yet you get far fewer likes than you expect when you post something yourself. As you may already know from Feedback Loops, we look for information that clarifies our actions. Still, this insight stops being helpful when the feedback has a detrimental effect on our mental health.
To ease this comparison pressure and feedback slavery, Instagram released a feature allowing users to remove the likes count on the posts. Users can now only see the username that has liked the post and “others”, instead of a number.
Don’t want to see perfect honeymoon posts from your old high school sweetheart going viral? Now you don’t have to! By hiding the number of likes, you’re following the old adage of ‘what you don’t see doesn’t hurt you’.
You might recognise this as the Salience Nugget, but it’s somewhat different from the classic use: typically, we would use Salience to highlight what we want the user to see. Salience arises from the contrast between what you highlight versus its surroundings. But hiding something to make it fall into oblivion can also be an elegant use of this bias. By shrouding the number of views, Instagram casts aside the counter that may cause uneasiness in some users, thus alleviating the discomfort of social comparison.
It’s behaviourally-significant to mention that this isn’t on by default. Instead, you can choose whether you want to hide the number of views giving you autonomy and an extra level of control. However, we can question if this is such a beneficial feature that can improve the mental health of its users, why isn’t it on by default?
This Nugget In The Wild may indeed be an excellent example of Salience, Feedback Loops and Autonomy combined for a positive emotional outcome. But there’s a drawback. Though Instagram has created a feature to reduce comparison pressure, it’s also hidden inside a maze of menus, making it harder to access than you’d like. We need to acknowledge the irony that Instagram hid a valuable and good feature that hides something possibly harmful. It makes you wonder if implementing this option is a genuine attempt to give Instagram users autonomy and control over their feed.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows y
ou to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
By making abstract facts more relatable and personal, we create a powerful opportunity to change perceptions and behaviour. This campaign is a great example.
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A new part of Coglode where you can read stories about how combinations of behavioural insights are used to make new and better experiences in the real world.
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