Well, folks, we have yet another new feature from Instagram. I mean, you shouldn’t be surprised. While I love new things, just as much as the next person, I feel like this has gotten out of hand. Or maybe this is the way that it has to be now? Social networking platforms need to constantly add new features in order to stay ahead of the curve. Some could make this same argument for games. So will this be the norm? That said, Instagram has announced a new variation of their polling sticker for Series. Now, there is an emoji slider that lets you ask and answer questions with an animated emoji on a sliding scale.
The sliding scale allows users to ask people “how” instead of simply picking between two options, using an emoji of choices to add context to the question. For example, you could have a slider to ask how an artist’s new single is or how ️ friends like their food. The emoji will animate as you drag it up or down the scale, and you can check in on how individual friends answered as well as see the overall average of all responses.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea. I think it’s neat. It’s cute. This is definitely a way to get people more engaged, but I question whether it’s necessary. I mean, maybe that’s the point. It’s engaging, so nothing more is needed, but it just feels like a little much. I do like the fact that this will let users choose a “how” option instead of just choosing between two sliding options. Instagram users that install the new emoji sticker into their Stories will be able to add a bit of context for good measure.
Adding the new emoji slider is simple enough. Just open up the sticker tray, where the standard poll and other sticker options are, and then just choose to add it to your story. You will be able to do this after you’ve already taken your photo or video, as usual. You will be able to write out a question you want to ask, then choose the emoji people can use in their responses. According to Instagram, users will be able to choose “almost any emoji from your library”, so be aware of that.
I am not making any declarations here, but I do wonder if people want to install something onto their smartphone? In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I think that we all need to be cautious. Again, I am not suggesting that by installing this, anything will happen, but what’s the one lesson that we learned? We need to be accountable for our own data and its privacy. When it comes to installing this, we all need to understand if there are any privacy concerns. Again, I’m not suggesting that there is, but we all need to be doing our due diligence. Hopefully, social networking companies have learned a lesson as well, but as the owners of that private data, its our responsibility to be aware of how to keep it protected.