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Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women

algorithmwatch.org

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Re: Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women

#2

Post by zxcmx »

It seems like the possibility that photos-of-undress are promoted by organic engagement is not discussed? (aka people seem to be clicking on this).

Confession: this is the first thing that sprang to mind for me. Not that algorithms suck or companies suck (though both of those are true) but that people suck.

Re: Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women

#6

Post by n_kb »

zxcmx wrote: post #2

It seems like the possibility that photos-of-undress are promoted by organic engagement is not discussed? (aka people seem to be clicking on this). Confession: this is the first thing that sprang to mind for me. Not that algorithms suck or companies suck (though both of those are true) but that people suck.

Of course it is. I'd even say that what we found is probably similar to the issue of offensive suggestions by search engines. A minority of Instagram users see the platform as a free source of soft porn images and their behavior is probably picked up by ML systems, amplified, and pictures of nudity are pushed for all users, in a vicious cycle. Just like search engines spread far-right conspiracies by suggesting them to millions of users after a few thousands searched for them.

Re: Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women

#7

Post by capableweb »

zxcmx wrote: post #2

It seems like the possibility that photos-of-undress are promoted by organic engagement is not discussed? (aka people seem to be clicking on this). Confession: this is the first thing that sprang to mind for me. Not that algorithms suck or companies suck (though both of those are true) but that people suck.

That was my first idea too! Not that people suck (not sure why you must suck if you enjoy looking at good-looking people), but that it's organic. Instagram just prioritizes what people click on, and people are attracted to attractive people, so they click on that.

Re: Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women

#8

Post by orbifold »

zxcmx wrote: post #2

It seems like the possibility that photos-of-undress are promoted by organic engagement is not discussed? (aka people seem to be clicking on this). Confession: this is the first thing that sprang to mind for me. Not that algorithms suck or companies suck (though both of those are true) but that people suck.

The technical term for these is "thirst trap" ( https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Thirst%20Tra...).

Re: Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women

#9

Post by watwut »

briandilley wrote: post #4

I don't even need to read the article to know that a more accurate title would be: 'Undress or fail: Instagrams user patterns strong-arms users into showing skin' or the classic 'Sex Sells'

Not really. It is about algorithm picking up and showing some pictures more regardless of personal taste of individual user or content creator

> If Instagram were not mingling with the algorithm, the diversity of posts in the newsfeed of users should match the diversity of the posts by the content creators they follow. And if Instagram personalized the newsfeed of each user according to their personal tastes, the diversity of posts in their newsfeeds should be skewed in a different way for each user. This is not what we found.

So it is more of algorithm amplifying effect that exists in general in much smaller effect and pushing people toward aesthetic that would not be "naturally" their preferred thing to look at or produce.

Re: Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women

#10

Post by P-ala-din »

n_kb wrote: post #6
zxcmx wrote: post #2

It seems like the possibility that photos-of-undress are promoted by organic engagement is not discussed? (aka people seem to be clicking on this). Confession: this is the first thing that sprang to mind for me. Not that algorithms suck or companies suck (though both of those are true) but that people suck.

Of course it is. I'd even say that what we found is probably similar to the issue of offensive suggestions by search engines. A minority of Instagram users see the platform as a free source of soft porn images and their behavior is probably picked up by ML systems, amplified, and pictures of nudity are pushed for all users, in a vicious cycle. Just like search engines spread far-right conspiracies by suggesting them…

but as opposed to "offensive suggestions", there is nothing wrong with showing-skin.
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