Blog 9: Diffusion of Innovations

Diffusion of Innovation was developed by E.M Rogers in 1962 and it is one of the oldest social science theories. The purpose of this idea was to explain how an idea or product gains momentum through a group of people. We then can use this theory to look at how it is being used in society and how people are adapting to certain products. Over time we can see the changes, how a product needs to be changed or reinvented in the future for the population. This theory has 5 categories. The first is the pioneers, who are the first to think of an idea and are willing to take the risks. Then early adopters are the ones looking to embrace the change and adopt new ideas. The early majority are next and they adapt to the new ideas before most people. The late majority are the ones who are concerned with this change and adapt to this idea after it has been tried by other people and they know what is going on. Then the laggards are the ones who do not bring on this change and never plan to. All companies and products go through this theory and we can use this theory to examine their startup and how they have evolved. Specifically for this blog, I am going to be looking into Instagram and how each stage of this theory is incorporated into the app.

Instagram is the number one photo-sharing app and for good reason. The app was launched in October 2010 by Kevin Systrom and was able to rack up 25,000 users in just the first day. Those who joined the app in the first few days and months would be considered pioneers as they were willing to take part in this new app they knew nothing about. The main goal of the app was to share photographs taken on a phone with your friends and family in the easiest way possible. It was the perfect app to be launched at that time because apple had been releasing iPhones that now had cameras a few months prior. By mid-December, the app had reached one million downloads and those who downloaded it the short months after coming out are the early adopters. These people were some of the first to download the app that would later have over a billion users. Instagram changed the way that we interacted with one another and completely took over the photo-sharing app space driving Facebook users way down. By 2012 the app had over 25 million users now including android users that racked up 1 million downloads in one day after it was released on the abroad store in 2012. Facebook caught wind of this rising app and with that app, on the fall they swooped in to offer $1 billion in cash and stock. The deal was sealed and now Facebook-owned this popular app (great). The 25 million people on the app would be considered the Early Majority. I remember that I downloaded Instragam when I was in 5th grade which would have been in 2011, I have had the app ever since and would think I fall between early adopters and the early majority.

Over the years Instagram had completely changed updating and changing settings in the app. In 2016, they introduced liking and commenting on the app and at this point, the number of users was skyrocketing to be about half a billion. These would be considered the late majority. At this point, the app has been out for 6 years and was extremely successful from the start with the updates and new features they were able to attract more users especially those who were skeptical to join in the first place. What started as a way to see your friend's posts, like, and comment on them now turned into a much more advanced app. You can now post videos and edit the pictures directly through the app. Instagram has also added Instagram stories, copying features from Snapchat and Instagram reels which are much like TikTok's. You also can make your profile public or private and even make a profit off of your page. Since the first launch, they have added a messaging feature where you can send texts, images, and videos to one another. With all these great new features you would think everyone would be on the app right? No. So much of the population is not on the app or has never downloaded it and these people are known as Laggards.  Some people choose not to be on the app for privacy reasons which makes sense because so much of our life is invaded by the internet while others don't want to be exposed or poisoned by the toxic information online. 

I completely understand where people are coming from when they do not want to download social media platforms. There are many negatives for one being the creepy accurate advertisements that show up on your feed. Instagram also creates a need for a fake life that is unattainable for most people. Also, people only highlight the highs in their life and it creates an unrealistic standard for the lives of many today. And this goes with any social media platform but it's highly addictive! So many people spend their time glued to their phones and sometimes people even post on Instagram to get a rush of validation from the number of likes and comments they get. With that being said there are also pros, it's a very visual site, and it's a great way to share your life and experiences with friends. Instagram compared to other sites is found to be better with privacy, you can make your account private and there is no way to bypass privacy settings. Instagram also does not allow you to download other photos although of course, you can still screenshot. Unlike years ago you can also build up your business with Instagram and make a living off of that. In the end, I do think that the positives outweigh the negatives, someone who does not use social media would disagree but we are being surveilled in other aspects of our lives too so at this point I have accepted it's happening on all of my social media sites as well. It's going to happen regardless so I mine as well have fun on these apps while it's going on.