Relax, Instagram Users: Why the Timeline Change Isn't as Big of a Deal as You Think

Users are panicking because they think that followers won't see their posts anymore, but that's an inaccurate assumption

Don't go into Instagram's Twitter mentions. right now. It's NOT pretty. Why?

Because Instagram users are convinced that this new algorithm is going to muck up their timeline and ruin their social media experience forever. And not only is that a horror show, but your Instagram feed is probably filled with variations of this meme:

A photo posted by Jaime King (@jaime_king) on Mar 28, 2016 at 7:42am PDT

"TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS because [Instagram] has decided to control our feeds according to likes not chronological order," reads the caption accompanying the photo. "So, if you would like to see my feed...in the moment, which is the most logical way to see someone's Instagram, please turn on the button."

Everyone from Jamie King to your former college roommate's dog sitter is probably posting a message very similar to that. Unfortunately, none of that is really true. Yes, Instagram is changing the way your timeline is displayed. But if you don't want your feed to change drastically, you just need to do one thing.

Nothing.

See, Instagram's new algorithm will be similar to Facebook's, meaning the accounts and type of content you interact with the most will appear at the top of your feed. So if you're always liking Taylor Swift's photos of her cats or constantly commenting under the silly videos your best friend shares, you will not miss those when Instagram changes up the timeline situation. In fact, you'll see them sooner on your timeline. So just act like you always do on Instagram and you probably won't notice much of a difference, except that any account you follow for no reason and never really pay any attention to will pop up less often.

A photo posted by Reeve Carney (@reevecarney) on Mar 28, 2016 at 2:18am PDT

So why is everyone freaking out? Well, mostly it's just the way of the Internet. One meme is shared on Instagram, a celeb reposts it and suddenly everyone believes this one fact and starts panicking. And for some reason people think this change is happening tomorrow, but Instagram assured everyone that its still in the testing phase and the official change won't roll out for a while.

A photo posted by Austin Ryan (@austin_ryan1) on Mar 28, 2016 at 1:24pm PDT

"Turning on post notifications" like it suggests in the meme just means that you'll get a notification on your phone every single time that account posts something. Every. Single. Time. So if you turn on notifications for every account you follow...just imagine how many notifications you'll get every single day. You don't want that. Nobody wants that.

So even though the likes of Kylie Jenner are sure that all her followers will miss her every Instagram post, it's just not accurate. You will continue to see the Instagram accounts you love and interact with.

Another social media disaster averted! Until the next one...