Instagram's New Feature Is Out To Bring College Students Together On-Campus & Online

Instagram never ceases to amaze when it comes to innovations. Whether it’s the success of the Snapchat-esque insta-stories in 2016 or the YouTube-twin IGTV in 2018, it’s no wonder that the Social Media Giant boasts 800 million (and counting) users, giving platforms like Facebook and Twitter a run for their money. And it seems like Instagram will continue on its innovative roll as it tests its newest feature, College Communities.

As explained in a report by CNBC, the College Communities feature aims at encouraging students to connect to others at their university by inviting them to an Instagram college community, reminiscent of Facebook groups. If you want to join the community, you have to choose your university and graduating year after which you will have access to “class-based lists of other students who have opted into the community”.

By testing this new feature, Instagram seems to be on its way to take yet another leaf from another Social Media Giant’s book, this time Facebook, the mother of Social Media. Although Facebook continues to be the leading Social Media platform with 79% of online adults using it versus merely 32% on Instagram, according to a Pew Research Center study, another study shows that Instagram is the most popular online platform for teens after YouTube. So by introducing this new feature, Instagram may be making the perfect move to further engage its population of young Instagrammers.

However, like most new features, College Communities still has a long way to go. Instagram does say that they are making sure that people can report inappropriate behavior and confirm that the students wishing to join the community are actual students by checking “information people have publicly shared about their university, the accounts they follow and other connections they have” but there are still glitches. As told shared by CNBC, one reporter found himself invited to join the correct college community but was then asked to register as an active student even though he is not.

We’ll continue to stay tuned to how things go as this new feature is tested and, who knows, we may be saying hello to a new virtual college community in the near future.