The Brief: Instagram users are sharing games, activities, and challenges on their Stories as creative and entertaining ways to interact with friends and followers.
DEEP DIVE
If you’re a regular Instagram user, you’ve probably seen some Instagram Story games and challenges circulating over the past several weeks. Whether it’s a challenge to draw a carrot, do ten pushups, take a shot, try a bingo template, share favorite music albums, or participate in the 30-day song challenge, there are many ways Instagram users are playing games and adding challenges to their stories.
The uptick in interactive Instagram Story activities correlates with COVID-19 related lockdowns and quarantines, which have led many to rely on social media as a primary form of communication and entertainment. People are getting creative with the ways they communicate digitally, hosting game nights on video chat, trying new apps, changing their Zoom backgrounds, and more.
On April 23, Instagram started testing a new “Challenge” sticker for stories which allows users to easily nominate their friends to try challenges.
Anyone can start or share a game, challenge, or activity in their Instagram Story and tag friends to join, and there are dozens of accounts dedicated to Instagram Story games on the app, some of which have tens and even hundreds of thousands of followers. While simple challenges like asking someone to draw an object don’t require much prep, accounts dedicating to sharing templates are providing a wide selection of options including get-to-know-you games, meme templates, brainteasers, and more.