Instagram asks users to pay for engagement 😬

Um, well, last week took a turn when it came to social media, right?

TikTok is officially getting the ax in the US, Mark Zuckerberg made some bold moves, and X has announced some big things ahead in 2025. 

Get a large drink ready as your week in social is officially here!

What an interesting turn Meta has had in 2025. Over the past few weeks, users on Instagram have been surveyed asking if they would pay for more views, likes, and overall engagement on the app.

Wasn’t it just last year that Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, said they would help small creators on the app? And now they want them to pay?

Yikes.

The survey had a variety of questions giving you a scale of how much you’d be willing to pay to get additional profile views, messages, and likes.

Could this be Meta’s next feature inside Meta? Possibly. But it does feel really weird and desperate to ask people to pay for more engagement.

Would you pay for more engagement?

• Make money on old Reels? Sign us up! Earn money by sharing Reels on your Facebook.
  
  

• We love a shortcut! Have a group of friends you frequently send memes to? IG has made it easier than ever to share content with them in one click.
  
  

• No more hiding from political content. Instagram and Facebook are officially pushing content to all users.
  
  

• Absolutely HUGE! YouTube is making it easier than ever for creators to create Shorts from engaging parts of their long-form videos.
  
  

• We love trending topics, and so does Bluesky.
  
  

• Billionaires have put in a bid to buy TikTok in the US … but ByteDance says no.
  
  

• The transition of X becoming the Everything App continues as it moves forward to launching “Money” later this year.
  
  

• Umm … why? Your Instagram and Facebook are soon about to merge.
  
  

• You’ll soon have to pay to even sign up for X. Womp, womp.
  
  

• It’s official: You can now schedule TikToks through its app.
  
  

• The EU doesn’t seem too happy with X and is asking it to shut off its algorithm.
  
  

• Speaking of algorithms—X is about to give its algorithm a major update.
  
  

• Instagram has added a “Watch Next” feature that compiles Stories from people you follow but haven’t yet watched.
  
  

• Three-minute Shorts are here—just in time before TikTok gets officially banned.
  
  

• TikTok is asking US users to download Lemon8.
  
  

• Reddit is making it easier than ever for brands and businesses to find trending topics, socially listen, and create fun ads.
  
  

• Hot dang! Bluesky is officially valued at $700 million.
  
  

• WHY? Instagram has slowly started showing users AI-generated images of themselves. Dystopian.
  
  

• X has decided enough is enough with meme accounts and has officially added account labels.

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Last week, Meta announced that fact-checking is no longer going to be a thing on its apps, and instead going to rely on the community to fact-check.

Hmm, that sounds very familiar. Almost like X did this last year too? 🤪

Meta has decided to update its rules on what people can say, bringing political content back to feeds, and getting rid of its third-party-fact-checking program.

Woof.

While this hasn’t been put in place just yet, it will be an interesting transition period for us all on Instagram and Facebook.

The top trending sounds and songs you need to use to go viral this week. 

💪 2025 Goals: Use this trending audio to show off your goals you accomplished in 2024 and how you are setting up intentions and manifesting new goals for 2025. Highlight the goals you want to achieve to your followers!

😴 I'm Just Tired: This trend uses a specific audio clip where someone expresses extreme exhaustion, often in a relatable work or life context.

👎 Don't Do It: This trend uses a repetitive, escalating audio of someone saying "Don't do it" to build tension.

🤫 Don't Tell Me: This trend shows someone in a precarious or less-than-ideal situation, and the sound is added to emphasize the humor and absurdity of the situation.

Want more trends? Get daily notifications on trending audios with our AI Assistant, Iris. Start a free trial today!

We are officially 5 days away from TikTok being banned in the US.

After the Supreme Court heard arguments about why TikTok being banned is against the First Amendment, it seems that the justices might not really care. 

We're still waiting on the final results from the hearing, but a lot of people don't think it looks too good for TikTok. 

And a lot of users have decided they will be boycotting all Meta products and have started downloading another Chinese app called Red Note.

While some billionaires have come forward to put in a bid to buy the app, TikTok has said “nope!” and is committed to leaving the US on the 19th.

RIP US TikTok! 🙏

One of the first things you should do if you want to up your Instagram game, is running an Instagram audit. Not sure where to start? Let us help you!

If you’re struggling on things to comment under the photo that isn’t just “you look amazing!” we’ve got just the comments for you! Here are 150 things you can comment on your friend’s Instagram post!

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