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Instagram Is Over

theatlantic.com

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Re: Instagram Is Over

#171

Post by AVTizzle »

saurik wrote: post #153
Mistletoe wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All mine has devolved to is trying to get me to watch absurd reels posts from half naked women trying to send me to an OnlyFans. Asking around to people I know they have experienced the same. I just stopped using it. It didn’t help that I realized every post on Instagram authentic or not is really just an ad. Even for people I know, it is an ad trying to sell me that their life is different than I know it is.

So, while I 100% agree with the original premise--that Instagram is filled with ads and content farms, with relatively few "real users" to be found--this specific complaint is actually "a you thing": Instagram's feed algorithm ranks content in ways that seems to give the wrong players power (such as by giving more weight to people who merely steal and aggregate content than the ones who produce it), but it isn't enti…

My friend - apologies for your experience.

In my experience, you can clean up your feed of unwanted content pretty quickly. Just go to discover and long tap > "Not Interested" on the stuff that's of the genre you want to filter out of your life.

I do this every couple months with IG babes & thot accounts to keep my feed free of sexual imagery. Works a charm.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#172

Post by viburnum »

isametry wrote: post #163
viburnum wrote: post #27

“In other words, Instagram is giving us the ick: that feeling when a romantic partner or crush does something small but noticeable—like wearing a fedora—that immediately turns you off forever” This was so ridiculously judgmental that I couldn’t keep reading.

There are currently two comments in this thread reacting defensively to that fedora mention – which is two more than I would've preferred there to be.

It’s not the fedora, it’s the utter shallowness of it

Re: Instagram Is Over

#173

Post by jsemrau »

kodisha wrote: post #150
jsemrau wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my eyes, TikTok is a social entertainment app where simple user-generated content is created with the purpose to provide enjoyment. It's not focused on the needs of other users, but entirely about one's own needs. Hence, I call this new version of social Eigensocial.

I think it's safe to assume that it's purpose is to gather data.

Valid point. Also always reminds be of the people on the Axiom in Wall-E. Consume until you are consumed.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#175

Post by shaggie76 »

As an avid photographer I thought Instagram would be a good place to share my work but was amazed to find just how photo-hostile it is: I loathe the forced 4:5 portrait aspect ratio and I die inside every time it ignores the embedded ICC profile and my colors get warped slightly after I post.

I loathe reels and the recommended posts but their recent addition a mode for only viewing people you follow has more or less solved the other problems; I just wish they'd put a bit more of effort into the basic functionality.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#176

Post by andirk »

An increase in ads seems to be desparation. It's an easy throttle when a company needs cash but there's a tipping point.

Protip: interact with a couple ads you like and you'll see mostly those instead of rando

Re: Instagram Is Over

#177

Post by andirk »

TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #81

On the topic of social media in decline, TikTok also appears to have peaked in content already. Following people isn't that interesting since most content creators that hit it big are One Hit Wonders. After they hit that big growth spike, they either follow the herd with the latest dance or trend, or they keep doing the same thing that made em famous with slight variations. How long can you milk the same dance routin…

I consider Tiktok content to be a sign of what the next generation has to offer. That frightens me.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#178

Post by anm89 »

Animats wrote: post #86

"To scroll through Instagram today is to parse a series of sponsored posts from brands, recommended Reels from people you don’t follow, and the occasional picture from a friend that’s finally surfaced after being posted several days ago. It’s not what it used to be." That seems to be how social media services die. Too many ads, fewer users, revenue drop, more ads to boost revenue, still fewer users, irrelevance. This…

I would agree up until the myspace part. Myspace died simply because facebook was percieved as way trendier at the time. The transition happened while myspace was more or less at its peak and I don't remember many adds or major changes to the platform until more like 2007 2008 after it had sold and was basically completely irrelevant

Re: Instagram Is Over

#179

Post by devoutsalsa »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #145
dbtc wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should stop letting them have it as if it was their property.

Yes. Advertising should be illegal. Failing that, there should be ubiquitous technology to render it completely ineffective by deleting ads in real time, destroying any and all returns on their advertising investment. One day someone smarter than me will make some machine learning thing that deletes brands from videos in real time.

YouTube figured it out, whether it was intentional or not. Let me pay money to not see ads. I watch a lot of YouTub & have a premium subscription. If I needed to watch unskippable ads, or any pre roll ads, I’d mostly stop using YouTube at all.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#180

Post by _hypx »

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #114
TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #81

On the topic of social media in decline, TikTok also appears to have peaked in content already. Following people isn't that interesting since most content creators that hit it big are One Hit Wonders. After they hit that big growth spike, they either follow the herd with the latest dance or trend, or they keep doing the same thing that made em famous with slight variations. How long can you milk the same dance routin…

You have to commend YouTube and Twitter's longevity as social networks. YouTube has better and more content than ever. Twitter also has the best and most relevant content, provided you curate your feed. All the stuff happening on academic Twitter, for instance, is hard to find elsewhere. Reddit also seems to be going down the path of irrelevancy. The content is increasingly mediocre and hivemind-ish.

Both Twitter and Reddit might be in decline. I know people keep on saying that some subset of those platform are still useful, but that doesn't attract eyeballs nor advertisement. Once the main page declines, the rest should follow. This is quickly accelerated if there is some alternative platform that provides a similar experience.
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