Social media is incredible.
It connects the world through its various channels, giving socialization and information massive reach and allowing people from all walks to meet, communicate, and share thoughts online. It also leads to a massive amount of toxicity, unfortunately, as it provides channels through which trolls, misinformation, and hateful content can spread. The duality of social media makes many of the most popular social media sites hot button topics, as we endlessly debate their values and detriments to our society.
In general, social media can be hit or miss. The most popular channels are carefully regulated — for the most part — which allows users to enjoy them without too much concern about their safety or mental health. Some sites are better than others in this respect, with Facebook facing continued criticism for its lack of action regarding misinformation and hateful groups. Instagram — which is also owned by Meta — has a similar problem, but doesn’t breed the same kind of destructive communities as Facebook. Instead, Instagram thrives on self-hate, as people compare and despair their way through a vicious cycle of photoshop and carefully crafted online personas.
In general, the worst parts of Instagram can be easily avoided. By following only close friends and family members — rather than the wealth of celebrities and socialites — users can avoid the heavily-photoshopped images that breed self-image issues, as well as the jet-setting lifestyles of the ultra rich. They can even avoid the people they love, but don’t necessarily want to follow closely, thanks to Instagram’s “mute” feature. The feature prevents a selected user’s content from appearing on your feed, but doesn’t completely remove them from your list of followed accounts. You can still view their page and direct message them at your leisure, but will be spared a constant window into their lives. The feature is becoming increasingly popular as users work to separate themselves from certain aspects of social media, but some users have concerns. Here’s what you need to know about Instagram’s mute feature, from how to implement it to how it affects the muted party.
How to use Instagram’s mute feature
Implementing Instagram’s mute feature is a simple, three-step process. It can be approached in one of several ways, but is easiest when attempted with a phone, rather than a computer.
The easiest method appears to be via a user’s Instagram profile itself. In order to mute a profile, users simply need to locate the account in question using the search bar, and tap the “following” button beneath their profile information. This button, on mobile devices, will bring up four options: add to close friends list, mute, restrict, and unfollow. Selecting “mute” from this list will remove their uploads from your daily feed, but will maintain them as a friend.
Another option is via the messages feature, according to Instagram. After navigating to your messages, select the profile you’re interested in muting, and tap their name at the top of the message thread. This will bring up a similar range of options, but also adds in mute messages, mute call notifications, and search in conversation, as well as the options to restrict, report, or block a user. Clicking on both mute messages and mute call notifications will effectively mute the account, without directly unfollowing it.
A final method allows users to mute accounts via their feed. This option leans on Instagram’s story feature, and is perhaps the simplest approach of all. To use it, simply locate the feed — or story — of the account in question, and click on it. From there, tap the three dots near the upper right-hand corner of your screen, and select “mute” from the list of options.
What happens when you mute someone on Instagram?
Muting an account on Instagram isn’t the same as unfollowing or blocking an account. A user will be aware when they are unfollowed, and may see it as a slight, and while they won’t be notified when they are blocked, you will lose access to all of their content. For those users who you want to stay in contact with, but would perhaps prefer that contact to be a bit less frequent, muting is the perfect option. It still allows users to navigate through an account’s uploads and story at their will, but doesn’t provide them whenever the app is open.
There is no way for the muted party to know they are muted, unless they severely breach your privacy and examine their account via your personal device. This spares any potentially hurt feelings, while still allowing you to put some distance between yourself and their incessant posting.