The Evolution of Caption Trends

Old (left) and new (right) Instagram logo.

The photo itself, the filter used and the caption are all taken into consideration when posting to Instagram, however in the last year the caption has arguably become the most crucial part.

Instagram launched in 2010 and that was the start of a social media phenomenon.

Back then, the use of excessive emojis and hashtags made the perfect caption for any Instagram picture.

Baylor student Kennedy Brown using caption puns. Photo from Brown’s Instagram page.

The amount of likes one got on a picture has increased tremendously since the app launched. Going back to the first post on someone’s Instagram, it is noticeable that there is less likes and a less creative caption. Some would say that these two things are directly related.

“No one is interested in watching a movie with a boring title, so why would someone spend time looking at a picture with an uncreative caption?” asked Texas Tech student Madelyn Hummell.

Hummell’s question speaks measures for how people view captions. Not only are captions the creative aspect of every photo, they also allow followers to get a glimpse of the poster’s personality.

Ten years ago, Myspace was the prominent site for social media interactions. The pictures posted on Myspace consisted of serious selfies and depressing song lyrics. In the Myspace world, these pictures were often posted to catch the eyes of teenage crushes.

Kendall Jenner Instagram Post.

Song lyrics died out with the creation of Facebook in 2004. Facebook left us with little to boast about when it came to captions and caption trends, however with the arrival of Instagram in 2010, captions were back and they were better.

Excessive hashtags and emojis on Instagram turned into puns and jokes that express a sense of funny sarcasm. People everywhere have caught on to the new trend in hopes they can trade their creativity for a boost in likes. Even celebrities are partaking in this new trend.

According to Forbes.com, Kendall Jenner is number 10 of the most followed people on Instagram.

Kendall Jenner and Chrissy Teigen are just two examples of many celebrities that use this caption trend to their advantage.

It helps their fans get a glimpse of their personality and sense of humor, something that you would not see otherwise.

Chrissy Teigen Instagram post.

“Chrissy Teigen’s witty sense of humor is a breath of fresh air compared to the emo lyric captions from our Myspace days,” explains University of Texas at Austin student Lexi Lora.

From the inception of Myspace to the height of Instagram, there has been a revolution of caption trends. So the question remains, will punny captions become “so yesterday, so yesterday” the way song lyrics and hashtags did, or will they with stand the evolution of social media?

About Karson Scharold

Karson is the Entertainment Reporter for The Hub@TTU. She loves traveling, obsessing over her dog Chloe, and binge watching Netflix. She will graduate with a degree in Electronic Media in December 2017 and hopes to find her place in an exciting new city!