Instagram will be prompting users in the US to share their race and ethnicity in an optional survey. The company says it will be sharing aggregated information with research partners Oasis Labs, University of Central Florida, and Northeastern University. Instagram has been working to diversify its content and audience. The platform recently rolled out enhanced tags to ensure creators are getting credit for their work.
1. Young Adults
Almost seven-in-ten American adults ages 18 to 29 say they use Instagram. That’s compared with smaller shares of those ages 30 to 49 and 50 to 64.
Some experts have linked Instagram and other social media sites to mental health problems in young people, including feelings of isolation and body image concerns. Studies have also linked social media with increased self-harm among teens, including thoughts of suicide or self-injury.
Meta-owned Instagram is starting a test that will prompt some US users for more information about their race and ethnicity to help the company understand how its technology may impact different communities. The optional survey will appear at the top of users’ feeds, and it will lead to a YouGov-hosted survey that is encrypted and can’t be linked to their account.
YouGov will share aggregated responses with Instagram research partners Texas Southern University, University of Central Florida and Northeastern University. Instagram says the results will not affect how it ranks content.
2. Latinos
Latinos can use a variety of labels to identify themselves. Some of these terms—like Hispanic, Latina, and Latinx—are gender-neutral, while others are based on language, culture, or geography. For example, Hispanic is used in the United States to describe people from countries that speak Spanish. However, Latinx is now more common and may be preferred for people who identify as non-Hispanic Latino.
Across social media, Hispanic creatives are making powerful contributions to their communities and the world at large. Whether through brightly-colored illustrations or murals, these creators are promoting purposeful representation and political consciousness.
Instagram recently launched a survey in partnership with YouGov to understand how different communities experience the platform. In a video on his account, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri explained that in order to make sure the app is equitable for all, it’s important to know how users from historically marginalized groups experience it. In the future, he said the company will prompt some users to answer questions about their race and ethnicity.
3. Blacks
As nationwide protests put the deaths of Black people in police custody on the public agenda, Black Instagram users say they use the platform to amplify their voices and keep issues like race and sexual assault top of mind. To avoid bans for discussing sensitive topics, many Black users have aliases or create backup accounts that they only use to post about those subjects.
A new optional survey that asks US users about their race and ethnicity is helping Instapro understand the different experiences of diverse communities on its platform. Participants will receive a prompt in their feeds that takes them to YouGov, a research firm that specializes in securely running surveys. Instagram says responses are collected and de-identified, and they can’t be connected to any specific account or user.
Black Instagrammers have used their platforms to call out racism in their local communities, as well as to hold their universities accountable for their lack of support or racial equity initiatives. For example, Queen’s University student Kelly Weiling Zou launched an Instagram account to amplify stories about racism at her school, which has since garnered 12,000 followers.
4. Asians
Instagram is prompting a random assortment of users in the US to participate in an optional survey about their race and ethnicity. The company says it will help it understand different experiences people may have on the platform. The prompt appears at the top of the feed and will lead to a YouGov survey. Instagram will share the de-identified, encrypted responses with its research partners, which include Oasis Labs, University of Central Florida, and Northeastern University.
The content of these aggregator accounts is often jarring, such as the videos of battered senior citizens or the stories of individuals who lost their jobs due to COVID-19-related discrimination. But their popularity reflects the hunger for racial justice in the broader community.
The accounts also encourage followers to speak out against anti-Asian violence and racism by urging them to call their local police or report hate crimes online. Many participants in the study cited ignorant comments or stereotypes as sources of frustration.
