The popular social media app announced two new features on Monday that are designed to minimize negative interactions. According to a press release by Instagram, online bullying is a serious issue. Unfortunately, it is ongoing for years. And even after significant investment in technology, the issue prevails – especially for the teenagers who are reluctant to report their ‘bad experience.’
To combat the occurrence of such issues, Instagram is introducing an “AI-powered” feature that will notify the users when a comment can be considered as offensive – even before it is posted. The intervention will give the user time to analyze their comment and even undo it, in order to avoid the recipient’s sentiments.
The other feature, which is not yet rolled out will give the users a chance to stand up for inappropriate behavior.
Instagram says that young people of the community are the most vulnerable to cyberbullying. However, they are also more hesitant to report or block the person from their accounts. This is because they fear that doing so may escalate the situation or the bully may interfere in their real life as well.
To ease their apprehension, the new feature called the ‘Restrict’ will soon be made available where the comments will only be visible to the commenter. The restricted person will not be able to see when you are online or whether you have read the messages as well.
Read next: Hackers Are Earning a Fortune Out of Fake Instagram Verification
To combat the occurrence of such issues, Instagram is introducing an “AI-powered” feature that will notify the users when a comment can be considered as offensive – even before it is posted. The intervention will give the user time to analyze their comment and even undo it, in order to avoid the recipient’s sentiments.
The other feature, which is not yet rolled out will give the users a chance to stand up for inappropriate behavior.
Instagram says that young people of the community are the most vulnerable to cyberbullying. However, they are also more hesitant to report or block the person from their accounts. This is because they fear that doing so may escalate the situation or the bully may interfere in their real life as well.
To ease their apprehension, the new feature called the ‘Restrict’ will soon be made available where the comments will only be visible to the commenter. The restricted person will not be able to see when you are online or whether you have read the messages as well.
"It’s our responsibility to create a safe environment on Instagram. This has been an important priority for us for some time, and we are continuing to invest in better understanding and tackling this problem.", explained Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram in a blog post.Cyber-bullying is a common issue – especially amongst teenagers who are often cruel to one another. Instagram serves as one of the ideal places for the bullies to target innocent victims due to its high-usage by the teens or the Gen Z. Luckily, Instagram is proactive and taking several different initiatives to tackle the issue. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope they are able to minimize the prevailing issue.
Read next: Hackers Are Earning a Fortune Out of Fake Instagram Verification
