Instagram’s New Anti-Bullying Nudges Could Actually Work
Simple but effective, according to experts
Among the flood of Facebook news last week — from a major visual overhaul to merging the company’s messenger apps — a tiny nugget slipped through: Instagram has a plan to combat cyberbullying. And it involves politely asking everyone to just stop.
In a brief segment of the company’s F8 keynote last Tuesday, Instagram announced that it’s testing several new features to help combat bullying online. Some give power to users directly, like an Away Mode to temporarily leave Instagram if you’re going through a hard time, or tools that let you limit another user who’s being hostile toward you, without blocking them entirely.
Most notably, Instagram is also testing a more proactive tool with comment “nudges.” This feature will use machine learning to detect when a user is about to make a comment that’s aggressive or hostile, then lightly warn them not to do so. When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Instagram clarified that “the notification doesn’t impede posting and no additional taps are needed, but our intention is that it will encourage people to pause and reflect on a potentially hurtful comment before posting it.”
Surely, it can’t be that easy to prevent online bullying. Right?
