Meta-owned Instagram is copying yet another feature of Tiktok. This time, you can press the right or left side of the screen for a long time to play the reel at twice the speed.
When Tiktok first launched, the video could only be 15 seconds longer. As years passed and Tiktok became popular, social networks deployed longer video support. This introduced the option for users to speed up their videos as they were trained to consume content more quickly.
Image credit: Instagram
The Instagram reel started by allowing users to post videos that are up to 15 seconds long. Today, users can share videos for up to 3 minutes. Like Tiktok, Instagram wants to give users the option to watch more content faster with new first forward options.
The idea behind the reels in particular is to provide users with quick, bite-sized entertainment, so the ability to fast-forward videos increases the chances that viewers will actually reach the end of a long video. This can be attributed to concerns that an increase in short form video content could negatively affect our range of attention and our ability to focus on longer forms of content.
Given that the Instagram reel is a direct clone of Tiktok, it's not surprising that the platform borrows certain features from the short video platform. It's not the first time Instagram has done so, as the remix feature is a copy of Tiktok's duet tool.