Here for the comments: How comment culture is changing the way we scroll Instagram Reels

“Opens Instagram”
“Starts scrolling”
“Finds a relatable Reel”
“Opens the comment section”
“Likes the funniest/retable comment”
Nearly 2 billion people use Instagram monthly, and chances are quite high that you’re one of them. If you do, you know that this is how our hands and brain now coordinate while we’re watching a Reel.
If we find a Reel funny, we head to the comment section to find funnier comments. If we find the Reel ‘cringe’, we go to the comment section to find some funny comments that validate our feeling of awkwardness.
We don’t think much before dropping a comment (good or mean), even if we don’t know anything about the person. Moreover, from celebs to big luxury brands, everyone is in the comments of every other viral Reel on Instagram.
But have you ever wondered how a platform initially designed to share photos turned into one that brings brands, influencers, and people together?
Let’s start from the very beginning.
The culture of engaging in an online fight with someone you don’t even know is something we’ve been doing ever since the advent of the internet.
Things escalated further when people started using X (formerly Twitter), and tweets filled with fights, sarcasm, and companies taking digs at one another became an everyday occurrence.
Who doesn’t remember Samsung’s iconic “Let us know it when it folds” joke when it mocked Apple on X?
X has always been a space where people observe others’ tweets, and agree and disagree with each other time and again. Similarly, the urge to let others know ‘how we feel about something’ grew further with the Facebook Wall and YouTube’s comment section.
But things took off when TikTok brought short content (30-40 seconds) and allowed users to comment on anyone’s content without needing to be their ‘friend’.
This culture of commenting on others’ content—photos, and videos—soon moved to Instagram as well, especially in India, where we didn’t have TikTok any more.
The option to go ‘live’ on these platforms, and directly connecting with followers and letting them comment and ask questions, further fuelled users’ habits of commenting on Reels or other content they came across.
Recently, things have escalated so much that not only has commenting on someone or something become extremely common online, but brands are also using the comment section culture to bring in the big bucks.
What makes a brand successful? One key factor when selling a product is creating the feeling among consumers that the brand is ‘one of us’, i.e., it’s relatable (except for certain luxury brands).
Nowadays, the comment section has created a unique connection between users and the brands they engage with. A single Reel is not considered viral if a brand doesn’t comment on it. Indian brands have also recognised the importance of engaging with ‘viral Reels’.
From brands like Swiggy, Zomato, and Duolingo to luxury car brands like Audi and BMW, all seem to comment on viral Reels that are relevant to them.
For instance, you’ll likely find a comment from @SwiggyInstamart or @Blinkit on any viral food Reel or @Ajio’s comment on a viral Instagram Reel featuring online shopping or clothes.
This is done for two main reasons:
a. It increases brand visibility. Brands understand that with every video that goes viral or lasts a bit longer than 15 seconds, it’s now becoming a tendency that we, as humans, will open the comment section, where we might encounter the brand’s name.
b. It ‘humanises’ the brand, making it more relatable to users.
To understand it better, consider Duolingo, an app designed to teach languages. However, when we say Duolingo, the first thing that probably comes to mind is ‘Duo’, the app’s mascot. Yes, we’re talking about the neon green owl with a distinct social media personality.
If you visit Indian Duolingo’s Instagram page, you’ll notice that the mascot has a quirky persona and isn’t shy about leaving cheeky comments on both its own and other viral Reels.
Btw, Duo also has a crush on Dua Lipa!
This ‘humanising’ of Duo has been especially noticeable in recent years and has made it a hit among social media users.
The result? By October 2024, Duolingo’s market capitalisation had risen to $12.27 billion, a significant increase from 2022, when its market cap was USD 2.85 billion.
There are various reasons why experts believe the increase in the comment section culture. Shreya Kaul, a counselling psychologist, tells India Today that this is because comments generally allow people to remain ‘anonymous and protected’.
“In an odd way, you can find people who might have similar opinions [when someone likes your comment]. The comment section often feels like a community, funnily. Now, whether this community is good or harmful, depends,” says Shreya.
Moreover, human beings love to share the information they know. Whether it’s in the form of gossip or letting ‘someone know about something’ in the ‘comment section’.

Comments are generally popular because they allow people to remain ‘anonymous and protected’. Photo: Unsplash

Shreya explains that “at some level, people have started to get a lot of information through the comment sections as well, which, surely, in some situations, might be great – but on the flip side, can be very harmful. It is unregulated, un-vetted and could possibly not be rooted in the truth.”
“I think it is a very obvious by-product of social media. We’ve been provided with multiple platforms where we can give our opinions whenever and however we want. There is barely any policing – which also means that it potentially can give rise to a very distorted sense of agency and influence,” she adds.
Now, since the comment section is generally unregulated and not fact-checked, it can be quite messy.
The comment section is also turning into a ‘troll’ platform, where people like to be mean to anyone posting their content. You would also find too many bots making distasteful comments on every other post.
For instance, in India, people (generally men) often tend to comment the letter ‘R’ (The Hindi slur we don’t want to spell out) when women dress up the way they want to.
We have also seen this ‘letter’ floating around in the comment section of celebs, especially women who have recently been divorced.
For instance, NataÅáa Stankovic, the 32-year-old model, received much hate and trolling when she got separated from Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya. All of this hate was on her comment section.
Even now, three months later, NataÅáa’s comment section is filled with comments that judge her character, and the word ‘R’.
This blind meanness has often impacted women’s mental health and has time and again stopped a lot of them from posting whatever they want to on social media.
For instance, Muskan Agarwal, a 24-year-old MBA student from Delhi, says that she wants to be a content creator but does not have the ‘courage’ to face trolls yet.
“People comment about the slightest thing. The slightest weight gain, the wrong lip colour, everything. I am scared that if I start posting online, they will troll me,” says Muskan.
Well, what do you think about the comment culture? Let us know in the comments.