As a part of its efforts to reduce the negative impact of its platform, Instagram is restricting posts about diet products and cosmetic surgery. From now on, posts like this will be hidden from users under 18 years of age, or even deleted from the platform completely. What’s more, the same rules will also be applied to Instagram’s parent company Facebook.
According to Digital Trends, the move comes in response to an increased number of influencers’ posts promoting cosmetic surgery procedures and diet drinks and supplements. Such posts are believed to influence young users and increase pressure on them. Instagram creates worries about body image and lifestyle as is, and posts like this are increasing them even more.
The Evening Standard writes that Instagram will be restricting these posts for underage users if they promote the use of these products and offer a special price to buy them. In addition, all posts about “miraculous” diets or weight loss products will be removed completely. From now on, posts like this will violate Instagram’s community guidelines, and you’ll be able to report them if Instagram’s algorithm doesn’t pick them up and remove them automatically. And yes, even celebrities like Kim Kardashian won’t be able to share posts like this anymore, according to Instagram’s Public Policy Manager Emma Collins:
“If [a Kardashian’s] Instagram post is pulled into the policy of promoting diet products or procedures for sale it will be removed. The Kardashians are people we continue to have collaborative conversations with, they’ll be made aware of the change.”
In a conversation with the Standard, Collins added that “it’s not in the interest of the broader community to be exposed to these kind of branded miracle claims.”
Instagram has got some bad rep over the past couple of years due to the negative influence it can have on its users’ mental health. With some of its latest features, such as hiding like counts, Instagram has been trying to reduce the negative impact it has on its users, especially teenagers. Hiding posts about diet products and cosmetic surgery is another step towards making less of the negative impact, and I personally think it’s a step in the right direction.
[via Digital Trends]
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