words by DEBORAH DRENOFCI
Instagram just announced that it is rolling out a 90-minute horizontal video format called Instagram Features. Creators can also post reels linked to the full Feature, with these reels acting as mini trailers. For now, the format is being tested among a small group of creators, but very soon we might have another addition to the media diet menu. The decision raises many questions. Is vlogging coming back? Why is Instagram going head to head with YouTube? Do we really need more screen time? The online community is divided, some in favour, others completely against. Either way, the format is coming, so it’s worth looking at how we got here.
In 2018, Instagram introduced IGTV, a standalone app that was then removed in 2022. When Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, was asked in 2024 about bringing long-format video back, he argued that it would erode the main purpose of the platform, which is to connect with friends. So he basically said no. YouTube, on the other hand, is the kingdom of long-format content, where some of us grew up watching PewDiePie play Minecraft or Bethany Mota’s haul videos. Yet in 2021, even YouTube introduced short-format videos, feeling the need to keep up with the attention-reducing bubble. According to Nielsen’s 2026 data, YouTube ranked number one for US TV viewership, surpassing platforms like Hulu and Netflix. Instagram seems to have gotten a little competitive and wants a piece of that share. So long-format it is.
For creators on the app, the main concern is revenue share, something YouTube does well. If Instagram Features helps creators monetise their work, that will be a key predictor of the format’s success. However, Instagram has not yet disclosed how this will work. If it launches, the algorithm will do its job, turning social media into a small economy. Some content creators will go viral and gain a competitive advantage, and that will start an inspirational chain across the platform, both for viewers and for other creators.
So, are we bringing vlogging back? The thing is, vlogging never went anywhere. Even amid this wave of short content, there were, and still are, creators who stay loyal to a longer narrative approach. We just shifted our attention elsewhere. But now that TikTok and Instagram are flooded with so-called “essay videos,” there seems to be a growing demand for a slower type of consumption. Slow consumption, however, requires a slower creative process, and that is the main barrier to entry. It means a return to more traditional storytelling, with a longer editing process, better lighting equipment, and perhaps a higher budget than a reel filmed in the backseat of an Uber. To play this new game, creators will need a different skill set.
We think Instagram Features has potential. The horizontal format makes it quite likeable, and perhaps it might even help fix our attention spans. But if it all works out, we may also see a sharp rise in the time we spend on the app. Ninety minutes of watching is ninety minutes of not connecting, which is exactly what Mosseri warned about in 2024. Instagram might win the screen time war, but in doing so, it could lose the very thing it was built for.
