Vertical video takeover reshapes TikTok, Instagram and YouTube
A Verge column traces how phones pushed social and streaming apps toward upright video and made vertical formats the default.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
The vertical video takeover has become a defining shift for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, according to a new column by The Verge’s David Pierce. Pierce argues that major social and media apps arrived at a similar format by copying what worked on smartphones: short, upright entertainment built for the way people hold their devices.
The column, published July 26 as part of The Verge’s Stepback newsletter, frames the change as the result of years of convergence among platforms that once had clearer identities. Pierce writes that YouTube was associated with clips from television and movies as well as an emerging creator scene, while Instagram centered on photos, Netflix pursued an on-demand version of premium TV, Facebook focused on friends, Twitter on news and Snapchat on messaging.
Those differences narrowed as smartphones became the main way many people came online, Pierce writes. Billions of new internet users began creating and watching media on upright screens, and platforms adapted their products to that behavior.
Why did vertical video take over?
Vertical video spread because phones are usually held upright, and content that matches the screen is easier to create and watch on those devices. Pierce writes that selfies helped normalize the format because they filled phone screens well and were convenient to shoot without turning the device sideways.
The Verge column notes that vertical video was resisted for years. Critics argued that people naturally scan horizontally and that upright clips looked awkward on widescreen computers, according to Pierce.
That resistance faded as phones became the dominant screen for many media habits. Pierce writes that entertainment followed the same path as other phone experiences, shifting toward the upright orientation users already preferred.
How the major platforms changed
Pierce’s central argument is that TikTok, Instagram and YouTube benefited by adopting similar vertical-video patterns rather than holding to their original roles. The column’s subheading says the companies “copied their way to victory,” referring to how competing platforms adopted features and formats that had proved successful elsewhere.
The column also credits Snap with recognizing the importance of upright phone media early. Pierce writes that Snapchat understood the shift before other major platforms, tying that early insight to the broader move toward vertical entertainment.
The piece is presented as a broader look at how platform identity has changed in the smartphone era. Its core point is that vertical video did not become dominant because one app alone forced the change; it grew from user behavior on phones and was reinforced as major apps copied the format.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.