Why Am I Watching Instagram on My TV?
Instagram is expanding its platform to television devices, aiming to compete directly with streaming services like YouTube and Netflix. The author reflects on the shift from personal mobile scrolling to a communal, big-screen experience for short-form content.
Why it matters
This shift signals a major strategic pivot for social media platforms as they attempt to capture traditional living room viewership and compete with established streaming giants.
The endless scroll has come to a bigger screen.
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic August 2, 2026, 8 AM ET Share Save The videos that Instagram suggests in my never-ending “For You” feed are usually of a constellation of women. They’re strangers, but I call them “my girls.” One of them is remodeling her house; one is always cleaning and “resetting” the van she lives in; one is sampling pasta and sandwiches at various New York establishments. And each has something special that I can’t explain to you—a je ne sais quoi, a curious style of speaking—so I’ve come to look forward to my regular glimpses of their lives, which I get when I scroll in bed before I go to sleep each night.
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