Recently, Instagram Stories has been gaining popularity with a new feature called “Polls.” Released in early October, Polls allows users to ask simple questions on their Stories to see the responses from their followers.

Many view Polls as fun to use for both creator and viewers.

“I like the polls because it’s a quick and easy way for your friends to interact with you,” junior Gina Filatov said.

To create a poll, the user simply takes a picture on their Story, chooses “Poll” from the stickers and writes a question.

“It gives you a chance to vote on things if someone is trying to ask a question,” sophomore Sydni Divelbiss said.

The polls can also be a tool for studies on Instagram. Since the polls show the percentages of each voted question, creators can see which thing the viewers like more.

“The polls would be useful for people who need to collect data for surveys,” Filatov said.

“The feature is useful if used in a right way,” sophomore Athena Comoda said. “For example, you can get information for an experiment and get people’s opinions and thoughts on questions.”

Unlike tbh, the popular app from September, or similar poll features on Twitter, Instagram’s Poll is not anonymous. Also unlike tbh, which filters all questions to be only positive, Instagram’s polls are not censored and can be used for potentially harmful intentions.

When Polls first appeared, some users thought that they would be anonymous when answering questions. Several people believe that it is good that the feature is not anonymous.

“If you were to ask something and someone maybe said a thing that you didn’t potentially like, you can see who it is and talk out the problem with them,” Divelbiss said.

Others disagree, including Filatov.

“It is bad in terms of people being self conscious of what they would want to put down so you might not get truthful polls,” Filatov said.

Polls has quickly gained popularity, which can be seen on many Instagram Stories, providing users with a way to make a decision while avoiding talking in-person.

“Now you don’t have to directly answer the questions; you can just vote yes or no,” Divelbiss said.