Instagram just added a game-changing feature but it's leaving users 'overstimulated'
Instagram has just added a surprise new feature that could change the way you post on the platform, as you're now given the opportunity – and simultaneously the stress – of creating individual captions for each image in a carousel.
It was only the other week that Instagram shocked people by letting them finally rearrange the order of posts in their profile's grid, yet the social media platform has smashed it out of the park again with the option to caption a post several times in one.
Sometimes it can be challenging to encompass the mood or feeling behind a multi-photo post in a single caption, and while some have gone to the effort of writing lengthy lists to break each carousel slide down one-by-one, Instagram has brought about an easier way to do things with a new update.
Instagram introduces captions for each slide
Enabled with a simple toggle, you can now set a caption for each photo in a slide, with the text changing as people swipe through the post.
Some celebrities are already taking advantage of the new feature, with many left in shock after pop music star Zara Larsson added simple captions to her most recent post on the app.
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It doesn't need to be anything complicated, with Larsson herself opting for more matter-of-fact descriptions that last little more than a few words, but it could perhaps take the stress out of trying to summarise an entire collection of photos you've curated from a trip or day out.
One thing to note is that it only seems to be working on the mobile app right now, with the web version of Instagram simply showing all of the individual captions in a long list — making for a rather disorienting and confusing experience if you didn't already know that the short sentences were meant to correspond with each photo.
How have people reacted to the update?
While the new feature has broadly been hailed as a game-changing update that actually transforms how people will share posts going forward despite its simplicity, many others have revealed their stress at now having to come up with multiple captions when one was already difficult enough.
Of course, you don't need to do a new caption for each individual photo as setting one universal description is still more than good enough, but people might feel encouraged – and perhaps obliged by the algorithm – to take part for added engagement.
"People about to stress out trying to think of 8 captions," joked one commenter in response to the update, with another adding that "it already takes me a whole day to write one caption."
One even noted that they were "overstimulated" by the update, but it all depends on how you approach the process of caption writing as this could free people up to be more descriptive and literal like Larsson.
Predictably, Instagram has also had to deal with demands for other highly requested features off the back of this update, with many calling for the ability to edit or change music selections associated with posts, alongside the age-old desire to see when people have unfollowed you.