It has become a vertical first platform of video, and is no longer a photo first platform it once was.
Instagram reels is basically TikTok 2.0. TikTok has a crazy accurate algorithm that manages to show content based on your profile and what you have engaged with in the past, which is what makes the app so addictive. Instagram, in their quest for growth (or more accurately, an effort to stop the hemorrhaging of users shifting to TikTok), has gone all in on reels and discovery. It has become a vertical first platform of video, and is no longer a photo first platform it once was.