In our first class of the semester, we all went around the room and stated our favorite thing about the internet. For most individuals, social media was the biggest contender and the overall number one answer for our class. Social media is such a huge part of college students lives and has become a piece of technology we cannot live without. Some of the major players of social media for college students are Twitter, Snapchat, Tinder, and Instagram. Since a majority of these social media users, their age range is from 18-24 and this is the reason these companies are so focused on capturing what these individuals want to see next.

Instagram is currently testing out a new feature which helps college students connect with other students within their area. This feature is similar to Tinder which allows users to connect with users in a similar area range. The goal of this new feature is to attract more college students (18-24 year range) and allow them to make friends and find people who are similar to them within a close proximity. Possibly igniting a few interactions even outside of the social media app and creating an in-person relationship (something which seems to be getting lost with the advancement of addiction to our phones and social media.)

The CNN Tech article can be found here which details the plans of Instagram and also the similarities to Tinder and its commonalities with the new feature.

I think this new feature may be able to help connect individuals to start to have an in-person interaction again and may help social media become a tool which helps bring back people talking to people. What are your thoughts?