Microprocessing

Instagram’s 😂 🔥 🎉 Reaction Buttons Are a Scourge

Research shows that a modicum of extra effort in online conversations goes a long way

Angela Lashbrook
OneZero
Published in
7 min readAug 13, 2020

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Photo: Markus Winkler/Unsplash

When Instagram introduced the option to “heart” direct messages in 2015, my personal experience of the platform began its slow, steady descent into hell.

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Angela Lashbrook
OneZero

I’m a columnist for OneZero, where I write about the intersection of health & tech. Also seen at Elemental, The Atlantic, VICE, and Vox. Brooklyn, NY.