"A while back, Meta introduced unskippable ads on Instagram: ads with a countdown timer that block the feed entirely, preventing users from scrolling until the timer reaches zero. If you've encountered them, you may have noticed how although five seconds isn't long, in that moment it can feel irrationally so, as it creates a strange tension when the thumb expects the interface the interface to keep moving, and it suddenly doesn't."
"Then when the countdown reaches zero and the feed releases, you continue scrolling but somehow you're suddenly more aware of what you're doing. Instagram has always been ad-supported, with sponsored posts that appear between updates in the feed, Stories, and Reels, and most of us have accepted this trade-off - the platform is free, so we scroll past the commercials without much friction."
Meta introduced unskippable ads on Instagram that display a countdown timer and block the feed entirely, preventing users from scrolling until the timer reaches zero. Although five seconds is short, the pause can feel disproportionately long because it creates a tension when the thumb expects the interface to keep moving. When the countdown ends and the feed resumes, users often continue scrolling but with heightened awareness of their actions. Instagram long relied on ad-supported formats like sponsored posts in the feed, Stories, and Reels, which users generally accepted as a trade-off for a free platform. The new ad breaks differ by freezing the feed and disrupting the effortless, absorbing experience.
Read at Medium
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