I think the single best change Instagram done in a decade is the "ad break" that happens once you've scrolled through enough posts, which stops you for N seconds to stare at some random ad. I think I can scroll through 2-3 posts before my scrolling gets locked, and I close the app, and now I barely scroll Instagram at all anymore. Thank you Instagram!
That's me with old.reddit .com, best change they ever made was starting to block that. I haven't been on reddit in over a month and have, this may or may not be related, felt a lot less depressed and stressed
The problem is that they measure this, and if it's true for many they will just change it until they find the right way to keep you there.
It's a giant machine dedicated to turn users into addicts. Regulation (sad) and most of all education is the only things that I believe can help here.
Tax them -> spend in education.... not that I think it will happen though! :)
Hmm, I think sometime in spring maybe. My wife tells me the same thing, she doesn't see those breaks. Not sure, I've had my Instagram account since 2010 I think, maybe like a reverse-grandfathering or just long-running A/B test?
I opened Instagram and scrolled now just to reproduce it again, and I saw one "normal" post before this "ad break" appeared for me: https://i.imgur.com/SS6kuKV.png
Well, in my case it seems like a win-win, less of a punishment and more of an extra feature I gained for making the right choice I guess. It's all the eyes of the beholder!
To add further humor on top of this, I think i.postimg.cc TLS certificate just now/yesterday expired??? Not sure if it's just me, but the certificate says it expired "Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:49:55 GMT" although I did manage to upload the image, maybe different host...
Nope, cert expired so I'm not allowed to view it XD It's alright, other comments say that it's because of protecting your privacy, which I guess I haven't done
I don't know what the right balance is, but there should be some sort of friction. Feeds shouldn't be infinitely scrollable, for instance, and users could be made explicitly aware of how much time they're spending.
Some people think this should all fall back on personal responsibility, but the way I see it, introducing highly addictive algorithms should've been regulated the same way adding addictive chemicals to food is.
Bluesky likely knows this problem well. The pro is that I never find myself stuck there. The con is that I just end up somewhere else (including this orange website). Time to ctrl-w.
Although Bluesky is tiny, they are the biggest and most stable proponent of letting users control their feed. Even if they don't grow big, being half the size of a toxic social media platform is a damn good business model. Somebody can win with that, and I hope a diverse group of startups try.
I honestly only have these apps to see what my friends posted. I know they aren't likely to do it, but it would be lovely to have the friends-only view back by default in every meta app
It can be good in the way that meals with green vegetables aren't consumed as voraciously as cheeseburgers and fries. It depends on the quality of what's in the feed.
On reflection I wonder if it doesn't drop more because it's a learned habit and it doesn't unlearn in the time of the study.
However, I suspect the other complaint — that chronological feeds get overwhelmed by corporate spam — is fully true.
It's one more regular reminder that none of these companies want to charge a couple of billion users a couple of dollars a month to give them exactly what they are asking for — a way to keep in contact with friends and meet new ones — because that's just not enough revenue for them, even if they charge for optional features.
We're all worth so much more to them if we are addicted.
Snarky reaction aside, and actually reading the article, it says that the problem is something along the lines of "we incentivized and rewarded business accounts to post large volumes, so now if you switch to chronological order you will see more of these posts which reduces user satisfaction".
Well, that just means that the company will have to adapt before their users start unfollowing spammy accounts and the whole "influencer" business takes a hit. Though tbh, not sure how much of a hit it could take but hey, when instagram says engagement falls, I allow myself to feel optimistic for a brief moment.
Same probably goes for slot machines if you strip them of all the bright, flashy colours and comforting sounds and make it a black metal box, with only a number display.
Its almost like... it was inherently designed to be as addictive as possible?
I hope the point is bigger than a nit to pick, but a plain slot machine is still bad. Social media used to be good or at least interesting in a good way. Maybe it can be again.
I don't get how instagram is as popular as it is. I made an account last week to try to look for pictures from an event I recently attended.
First I was incredibly surprised and frustrated that their search functionality is effectively nonexistent, then, when I gave up and scrolled, if I tapped on a post to look closer, I had to deal with it interrupting whatever I was listening to.
Then, cherry on top of the shit cake, they suspended my account unless I did some video ID process. Nope, not happening.
Instagram felt like a more invasive and hostile user experience than any social media I've used before.
I think Instagram has gotten quite a bit worse over the past few years. I really only want to see posts from people I follow and they've made that more difficult.
The service that totally baffles me is Tik Tok. I know it's supposed to learn what you like, but it has never really surfaced anything of interest to me. It might even be worse than YouTube for me.
My ideal Instagram algorithm would be to show me only the people I follow, in chronological order. Then show me a marker that I'm at the end of my feed and at that point they can offer me their feed.
Everytime I stumble upon search on ANY meta made platform I'm dazzled by how anyone can make simple search such a shit feature. Messanger search is ridiculously not working for ten years now.
I think the single best change Instagram done in a decade is the "ad break" that happens once you've scrolled through enough posts, which stops you for N seconds to stare at some random ad. I think I can scroll through 2-3 posts before my scrolling gets locked, and I close the app, and now I barely scroll Instagram at all anymore. Thank you Instagram!
That's me with old.reddit .com, best change they ever made was starting to block that. I haven't been on reddit in over a month and have, this may or may not be related, felt a lot less depressed and stressed
old reddit isn't really blocked, you just have to be logged in
The problem is that they measure this, and if it's true for many they will just change it until they find the right way to keep you there. It's a giant machine dedicated to turn users into addicts. Regulation (sad) and most of all education is the only things that I believe can help here.
Tax them -> spend in education.... not that I think it will happen though! :)
When did that start for you? I've never seen that myself, I can keep scrolling as long as I want
Hmm, I think sometime in spring maybe. My wife tells me the same thing, she doesn't see those breaks. Not sure, I've had my Instagram account since 2010 I think, maybe like a reverse-grandfathering or just long-running A/B test?
I opened Instagram and scrolled now just to reproduce it again, and I saw one "normal" post before this "ad break" appeared for me: https://i.imgur.com/SS6kuKV.png
Those ad breaks only appear if you opt out of personalized tracking.
They're a punishment for you because you won't let them collect data.
FB app does that too.
Well, in my case it seems like a win-win, less of a punishment and more of an extra feature I gained for making the right choice I guess. It's all the eyes of the beholder!
Content not viewable in my region :P
Ay, I'm glad we now have country-specific internets, very fun :)
I uploaded the image to https://i.postimg.cc/Cx6fYh8p/image.png instead, hopefully you're not on corporate network blocking the (used to be) shady .cc tld.
To add further humor on top of this, I think i.postimg.cc TLS certificate just now/yesterday expired??? Not sure if it's just me, but the certificate says it expired "Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:49:55 GMT" although I did manage to upload the image, maybe different host...
Nope, cert expired so I'm not allowed to view it XD It's alright, other comments say that it's because of protecting your privacy, which I guess I haven't done
You get that when you refuse personalised ads.
Same! It's a great reminder to stop scrolling and close the app.
Tobacco exec says smoking falls by half with low-nicotine cigs.
Nobody says bring back cocaine-cola because sales.
I don't know what the right balance is, but there should be some sort of friction. Feeds shouldn't be infinitely scrollable, for instance, and users could be made explicitly aware of how much time they're spending.
Some people think this should all fall back on personal responsibility, but the way I see it, introducing highly addictive algorithms should've been regulated the same way adding addictive chemicals to food is.
They should tax Instagram for continuous scrolling. The longer one session gets the more it costs :D
Bluesky likely knows this problem well. The pro is that I never find myself stuck there. The con is that I just end up somewhere else (including this orange website). Time to ctrl-w.
It's not like this website has some nefarious algorithm to keep you engaged.
I also find myself here and keep bouncing off bluesky and I think it's just because I find the info and conversation here more interesting.
Although Bluesky is tiny, they are the biggest and most stable proponent of letting users control their feed. Even if they don't grow big, being half the size of a toxic social media platform is a damn good business model. Somebody can win with that, and I hope a diverse group of startups try.
A great start and a major win for humanity. Halfway there!
>> If you go to a chronological feed, it ends up getting overwhelmed with content from companies, brands, and publishers
Not if you unsubscribe from companies, brands, and publishers. You're welcome.
For a lot of people that's a good thing
> engagement falls by half without the algorithm
Good?
I honestly only have these apps to see what my friends posted. I know they aren't likely to do it, but it would be lovely to have the friends-only view back by default in every meta app
"Mosseri is not arguing that a chronological feed harms users. He is arguing that it produces less engagement and less time on the platform."
Seems like a great outcome, right?
Only half? That's sort of depressing.
It can be good in the way that meals with green vegetables aren't consumed as voraciously as cheeseburgers and fries. It depends on the quality of what's in the feed.
Will fry all the brains of humanity for double the engagement (and a promotion to L5).
Doesn't sound worth it to me.
So this is the result of "move fast and break things (humans in this case)".
It's a good start.
On reflection I wonder if it doesn't drop more because it's a learned habit and it doesn't unlearn in the time of the study.
However, I suspect the other complaint — that chronological feeds get overwhelmed by corporate spam — is fully true.
It's one more regular reminder that none of these companies want to charge a couple of billion users a couple of dollars a month to give them exactly what they are asking for — a way to keep in contact with friends and meet new ones — because that's just not enough revenue for them, even if they charge for optional features.
We're all worth so much more to them if we are addicted.
cue the smallest sad violin
Snarky reaction aside, and actually reading the article, it says that the problem is something along the lines of "we incentivized and rewarded business accounts to post large volumes, so now if you switch to chronological order you will see more of these posts which reduces user satisfaction".
Well, that just means that the company will have to adapt before their users start unfollowing spammy accounts and the whole "influencer" business takes a hit. Though tbh, not sure how much of a hit it could take but hey, when instagram says engagement falls, I allow myself to feel optimistic for a brief moment.
Monetization is down when content isn't force-fed to users. Give this guy a raise.
Good?
Yeah, we know! That’s the problem!
That's great, does he have any other good news to share with us?
Same probably goes for slot machines if you strip them of all the bright, flashy colours and comforting sounds and make it a black metal box, with only a number display.
Its almost like... it was inherently designed to be as addictive as possible?
I hope the point is bigger than a nit to pick, but a plain slot machine is still bad. Social media used to be good or at least interesting in a good way. Maybe it can be again.
They don't know that.
You can't currently turn off the algorithm in Instagram.
This person is talking nonsense.
Because people are lazy, they feed on feed.
I don't get how instagram is as popular as it is. I made an account last week to try to look for pictures from an event I recently attended.
First I was incredibly surprised and frustrated that their search functionality is effectively nonexistent, then, when I gave up and scrolled, if I tapped on a post to look closer, I had to deal with it interrupting whatever I was listening to.
Then, cherry on top of the shit cake, they suspended my account unless I did some video ID process. Nope, not happening.
Instagram felt like a more invasive and hostile user experience than any social media I've used before.
I think Instagram has gotten quite a bit worse over the past few years. I really only want to see posts from people I follow and they've made that more difficult.
The service that totally baffles me is Tik Tok. I know it's supposed to learn what you like, but it has never really surfaced anything of interest to me. It might even be worse than YouTube for me.
My ideal Instagram algorithm would be to show me only the people I follow, in chronological order. Then show me a marker that I'm at the end of my feed and at that point they can offer me their feed.
> I don't get how instagram is as popular as it is.
Stockholm syndrome.
Everytime I stumble upon search on ANY meta made platform I'm dazzled by how anyone can make simple search such a shit feature. Messanger search is ridiculously not working for ten years now.
Good stuff ! When’s it going to prod ?
> Users miss more content and spend less time on the platform.
And what is the effect of this on the user?
Oh right, you don't care.
For me this guy is directly repsonsible of all the negative side effects of this attention grabbing engangement BS and he should go to jail for that.
This is simply 21. century Tabbaco industry with all it had. The glamour, controversy and now the fall.
"The brands and publishers’ point is the stronger half, and it deserves engaging with. "
Just one example. It's odd to me that people are willing to put their own byline on obvious slop.
Good!
That's the point.
Engagement ~= addiction. Just a more euphemistic framing.
Good
>Children will be smoking less if you don't offer them cigarettes
Because looking at pictures is the same as smoking cigarettes.
Same with HN and its LLM powered comments script they run internally
Cry me a river, seriously.