New social media features and updates to know this week

 There are lots of typical social media updates this week, and we’ll get to those in a moment. But there’s a growing existential conversation about the future of social media – especially as it relates to children and teens.

Last week, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy wrote an op-ed calling for a warning label on social media platforms related to the mental health impacts of the sites on adolescents. Murthy said that nearly half of adolescents report that social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.

The label is just a suggestion and would require congressional approval to become reality. But it’s a reminder for everyone, and especially those who seek to reach young audiences, that these tools can be dangerous if we aren’t very careful.

In more quotidian social media news, Meta’s new Threads API gives creators access to a variety of tools to help connect with their audience, while Reddit reintroduced Conversation Ads to help advertisers catch users at a better time. Also, YouTube’s new update allows users to edit videos longer than six minutes.

Here’s what you should know about:

TikTok

TikTok released Whee, an app that’s similar to Instagram. The platform’s posting and direct messaging features are for sharing exclusively with friends. Whee follows TikTok’s April launch of Notes, another platform for photo sharing which was previously deemed similar to Instagram upon its release.

TikTok has also unveiled the app’s latest AI integration, dubbed Symphony. Users can create digital avatars (you can see one in the video linked above), use AI to dub translations into other languages and more. This new technology is bound to shakeup the influencer market.

Instagram

Instagram is following the theme of private sharing with the launch of Close Friends on Live. Users can now broadcast with up to three others in a private video session for their Close Friends list.

Additionally, those on Instagram can now add music in carousel posts that include video clips. This feature was previously exclusive to image only carousels.

Threads

Threads finally released its long-awaited API during Cannes, allowing creators, developers and brands all access.

Tools include:

• Unique integration builder.
• Publish posts and fetch content.
• Reply management (hide, unhide, or respond to specific posts).
• Key insights such as views, likes, posts and quotes.
• Other metrics such as follower demographics and numbers.

Unlocking these abilities will take burdens off those posting on social media such as the ability to schedule posts and study your audience.

Meta

Meta announced two more features along with the Threads API last week.

A new AI chat feature will help answer questions from customers on behalf of the business when a human may be unavailable. The technology allows companies to share information about themselves to train the chatbot to answer questions specific to their brand.

Plus, advertisers will soon be able to build a list of opt-in subscribers in Messenger to send marketing messages to. Think of it as a new avenue for email or text-based marketing.

Reddit

Conversation Ads will now appear where half of Reddit’s screen views happen: in the comments of Reddit threads. With this prime placement, advertisers will catch users while they are most engaged and activated. Users may also see ads between individual comments in their Reddit conversations during a test.

YouTube

YouTube is encouraging longer video length by allowing editing for videos longer than six hours – a welcome feature, especially for streamers. All creators will see these roll out in the studio by the

Additionally, YouTube is also improving the moderation process, especially at scale. Creators can now select and moderate multiple comments in the Publish tab instead of the “Held for Review” tab.