The slippery slope of IG Reels- UX analysis

Ajay Veyron
3 min readJun 8, 2022

--

A while back, I wrote an IG post for One-way Ticket to Instagram Reels. It talks about how Instagram tricks you to keep on using Reels for as long as possible. This article is a detailed version of that post.

Let’s admit, we all waste a lot of our time on Instagram Reels. You open it just to check in on messages and then you find yourself sulking in it for 1–2 hrs minimum.

It doesn’t happen by chance. Instagram’s Product designers have been very smart with this. Ofcourse, other short video platforms also have a quite high engagement, but IG does it in a more discreet manner. Well, they have to. Otherwise, there are enough chances of you just opening the app for checking on messages from friends and then close it right after that.

How does Instagram does it then?

You might have faced this screen earlier on IG app. Have a close look at it.

Now, have you ever felt annoyed when Instagram asks you to either Rewatch the Reel or Watch more Reels. Well, why doesn’t Instagram just loops the reel on that page only, like it does for other video formats. Wouldn’t that be more user friendly? Why take me to the Reels page (or full-sized video format page)?

Yes, but then you don’t get to witness IG’s real player — REELS.

Analytics and Research has shown that once a user gets in to the full-sized video format page (which in this case, is Reels) they tend to be locked in there for a very long time. It’s because of Engagement rate of such format. And IG has an exceptional Engagement rate on Reels, because of the high-quality content and its amazing algorithm that shows you the best videos when you land on that page.

And that’s not it. To top it off…

Instagram has made it so much easier for for users to get into the Reels page, that one can’t resist it. It’s almost like a slippery slope, easier to get in, harder to get out. The way it does so is by giving numerous entry options into Reels.

You can go to a full-sized video format page on Instagram through all these ways — Feed, Explore, DMs, Notifications, Profile and Reels ofcourse.

And that’s how everyone ends up wasting their time on IG reels.

If you found this insightful, you can give some Claps on this post.

PS: You can give upto 50 claps by holding down the clap button;)

--

--

Ajay Veyron

A passionate user-centered designer and researcher who believes in solving complex problems through easy solutions.