Instagram Has Introduced Status Updates and Everyone’s Freaking Out

*Posts cringey song lyrics from 10 years ago*

It’s been a hot minute since a new Instagram feature has shooketh our social-media-reliant lives. There’s been the reintroduction of the chronological feed and some aesthetic changes, but perhaps nothing as rogue as this.

Aussies slid open their DM’s this morning and saw chaos.

Above your list of messages, there are now tiny bubbles above people’s profiles. And it’s already being used for unhinged purposes.

The feature is officially called Instagram Notes, and it allows you to display short, 60-character messages to either your entire list of followers or your close friends.

Anyone else getting flashbacks to the MSN and Skype status updates?

People are already getting creative with it, with some of the most popular Notes being song lyrics (harking back to MSN days), expressions of confusion (“what the hell is this”) and “your mum” jokes.

There’s also been some commentary around key tech figures such as Instagram’s own Mark “Zucc” Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk—particularly how the latter’s recent acquisition of Twitter has provided the perfect opportunity for Instagram to swoop in with the whole limited-character message thing.

It seems all too convenient—but apparently, the real purpose of the feature is to start prioritising Instagram as a messaging app.

The Notes disappear after 24 hours, much like your Instagram Stories. So if you’re not already posting on the grid, commenting, tweeting, snapchatting and BeRealing—here’s another social media habit to add to the list.