Instagram is officially putting the ‘social’ back in social network. Its latest update now allows followers to comment on creators’ stories, with comments being shown on-screen similarly to livestream chat logs.
While only mutuals can comment on your story, these comments will be viewable to the public. The Verge also points out that if users prefer, they can disable comments on their stories. As with stories, these comments will only be available for 24 hours.
Why did Instagram add comments to Stories?
Instagram head Adam Mosseri has emphasized the importance of the stories functionality on the app numerous times in the past few years. In 2022, he said in an X post that “friends post a lot more to stories and send a lot more DMs than they post to Feed.”
Then, in a 2023 podcast interview, Mosseri reiterated these points and noted how the younger generation in particular uses stories.
“If you look at how teens spend their time on Instagram, they spend more time in DMs than they do in Stories, and they spend more time in Stories than they do in Feed,” he said.
Instagram has invested a lot of time and money to become more creator–orientated, specifically with the introduction of Reels and some monetization opportunities.
But with new features like profile songs and Notes, the platform’s strategy seems to be honing in on close friendships and DMs.
