#72 Which do you prefer, Reel or TikTok? : Education and ICT Online

　"Instagram" launched the "reel" function in Japan in August 2020. Reel is a function that allows you to post short videos. There is also an editing function that allows you to quickly create fun videos by adding background music and effects.

　When the reel was released, it was said to be a competitor to "TikTok", a service that shares short videos, and it was very exciting. However, when I first saw the reel, there were many videos that were reprinted from TikTok (with the TikTok logo), and there were many videos from overseas. was Nearly a year later, how are they being used?

In a survey ^* conducted by Z Research Institute on women aged 12 to 25 in March 2021, the question, "Which do you watch reels or TikTok?" , 65.6% answered that they often watch TikTok. Looking at the viewing time, reels are most often less than 30 minutes at 55.0%, while TikTok is most often less than 1 to 2 hours at 31.0%, followed by 30 minutes to less than 1 hour at 22.7%. I know you've been watching it for a long time.

* Z Research Institute Trend Communication Vol.9 “Instagram Part 2” (https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000038.000020799.html)

By the way, TikTok can publish videos up to 60 seconds long, and reels can publish videos up to 30 seconds long. However, in reality, there are many short videos of about 15 seconds, and if you look at it for a few seconds and decide that it is boring, you can flick it and skip it, so even if you watch it for 30 minutes, you will be watching a considerable number of videos. .

　In the survey, it was found that the types of videos being watched were different. In both cases, “beauty” is the top, but TikTok has a wide range of content such as “story”, “fashion”, and “dance”. On the other hand, the result of reels is that there are few views other than "fashion system".

　I think this difference is largely due to the UI of the app. Basically, most people on TikTok do not look at the posts of the accounts they follow, but look at the posts displayed in the “recommended” section. In other words, TikTok is watching a video judged by AI as a genre that the person likes. Occasionally, videos of genres that have never been seen are inserted, so users can watch without getting bored.

　One reel can be viewed from the recommendations displayed on Instagram's "Discover" tab or from the "Reel" tab. Reels catch your eye when you're looking for information on Instagram.

In short, when you want to have fun without any particular purpose, you open TikTok, and when you want to get information, you open Instagram and watch reels.

However, Reel will follow up with new features. In March 2021, we launched a “remix” function that allows you to collaborate with other reel videos ( figure). This is similar to the “duet” feature that TikTok has been offering since May 2018. For example, you can put a popular dance video on the left and yourself on the right to create a video of people dancing to the same song together. We can feel the desire to use Instagram not only for collecting information, but also as a place to enjoy entertainment. I will continue to pay more attention to it.