Instagram's pivot to video is leaving behind disabled users

Social media has recently taken a drastic shift towards video-first content. Adam Mosseri announced in June that the platform was no longer a photo sharing app. He made it clear that the turn-to- video was here to stay.

Many users have expressed their displeasure with the shift from mega-influencers to professional photographers who depend on the app. The online community of disabled and chronically ill users, who often struggle with both the creation and consumption of such video content, have been overlooked.

There is a community of people who support one another through the realities of being disabled on social media sites. Many disabled and chronically ill people can benefit from the platform. You rely on your digital networks when you have to spend a lot of time in your home because of symptoms of your disability or because of the ongoing Pandemic. These users will be affected by any shift in the platform's algorithm.

What does the disabled community think?

What will this push for video content mean for this community? Jameisha Prescod, a disabled journalist and digital creator, says it's a complicated topic. Some disabled communities will find video content more accessible, while others will find it hard to use. Video content allows Prescod to express themselves with more detail. This isn't the case for everyone. It takes more time to create video content than it does to create stills based content. This is a problem for people who are chronically ill.

The founder and editor-in-chief of Able Zine finds it hard to create and consume video content. Living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a complex condition characterized by extreme fatigue and a wide range of disabling symptoms, she explains that creating any content on social media is fatigue-inducing for her. Walder says that he had to suffer to make content that would be more shared. To make one video post would take as much energy as it would take to make three photos. It wouldn't be possible to compete with non-disabled creators.

Walder argues that technological inaccessibility is one of the problems that arises here. Walder says that many people find it hard to use the in-app software. How many people will be left behind if digital natives find the shift easier?

The worrying direction

It has been made clear that video-first content is the only type of content that will be prioritized by the social network. Mosseri said that more and more of the platform is going to be video. This self-manufactured push can be seen in the way that the social network is giving financial incentives to people who create video content over stills. Prescod believes that the push for video may make disabled and chronically ill content creators feel pressured to create videos.

Walder is concerned about the way consistent posters are preferred in the feed. You can't do that when you have chronic fatigue. Unless I was working on my social media, I don't think I would be able to match that. What does this mean for the many disabled people who depend on the feed for their income? The disabled community is being left behind.

The problem isn't just with the creation of such content The change risks inaccessibility and exclusion for people with sensory processing issues, such as neurodivergent people, by opening up the app and being bombarded with auto-playing video content. The experience of the app for people with deafness or blindness is not as good as it could be. The problem with video content is that it is6753167531s where the audio says one thing and the caption says another. Walder believes that digital accessibility is being forgotten in video content.

Prescod agrees that accessibility seems to get added on after the fact. Within the last year or so, auto-captions have become widely available, and so many apps are focused on video. When it comes to auto-captioning, creators aren't encouraged to include a mandatory caption as a mandatory part of their content.

Still image descriptions aren't uncommon to see on the platform Video and audio descriptions seem to have been ignored in this new release. There's no place to put them in the post and nobody really knows how to do it. I think disabled users are being overlooked. Access is not being prioritized enough.

Pressure needs to be put on social media companies 

With a more explicit focus on accessibility features in the creation and sharing of videos, the roll out of new features does not have to leave disabled communities behind. The access options should be obvious. Simmons suggests that you should be encouraged to change the caption if it's incorrect.

Prescod believes that more pressure should be put on social media companies to make it easier for users to access their content. They suggest that people make their videos with subtitles and descriptions. The extra effort allows more people to enjoy the service.

The decision to abandon stills-based content is the biggest issue with the new video feature. Simmons wonders why the photo sharing site can't just do both. They need to completely neglect the photo stills. They need to stop trying to be TikTok because it's being removed completely. Who fades from our feeds when image based content isn't prioritized? Who do we stop hearing? These voices wouldn't be fading from our feeds if social media companies cared more about what communities needed.