Instagram Avatars are now available, and they could shake up the internet as we know it. Here is a quick review of the latest feature – Instagram Avatars.
As Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri introduced in a new video: “Avatars are a key building block of personal identity in the future of metaverse.”
In short, the metaverse is coming – ready or not – and these fun little digital personas are the first part of the puzzle.
What Are Instagram Avatars?
Instagram Avatars are personalized 3D personas. They can simulate your physical traits, or describe how you want to be perceived online.
And they turn out to be more interesting and inclusive. You can design almost everything – clothes, hairstyles, facial parts, and so on. It’s the same as an advanced version of The Sims.
Unlike the old avatar apps, Instagram has skipped the function that allowed you to choose the gender. Instead, there are simply customization options that are the expression of gender. Your Avatars can also have some “digital goods” that are stored in limitless backpacks, purses, or pockets.
Read: NFTs has entered the chat. ?
Now Instagram Avatars are available for only stories and DMs. However, Avatars will hold a whole lot more in the future.
According to Mosseri, Avatars will be the virtual identity that you can use to describe yourself and show up across the metaverse – whether that’s “an app built by Meta or another company.”
How to Create an Instagram Avatar
Instagram Avatars are now appearing in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with more regions to follow in the coming months. Follow these steps to create a 3D avatar in Instagram:
- Choose the menu icon at the top-right corner side of your Instagram profile page
- Open “Settings”
- Choose “Account”
- Tap “Avatars”
Alternatively, go to your Instagram Stories sticker tray and choose the “Avatar” sticker:
From here, you can customize your avatar through a series of on-screen prompts.
What Do Instagram Avatars Mean for the Future of the Metaverse?
For many people, alternate digital realities with tradable non-fungible tokens (aka NFTs) belong only in sci-fi films. But it’s not a fantasy for the big bosses at Facebook – Instagram’s mother company.
They’re going all-in on the metaverse – hence their rebrand to Meta last year. And Instagram Avatars are the very first step towards making the metaverse a reality, if you’ll excuse the pun.
Mosseri says that in the future, Instagram thinks the internet will evolve into a more immersive experience – metaverse. And if you want to be in these virtual worlds, you need to find a way to describe who you are with a visual representation.
In conclusion, the internet, and how humans use it, are going to change. And Instagram Avatars are just the first stage.