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Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, acknowledged that, “If you look at how teens spend their time on Instagram, they spend more time in DMs than in Stories, and they spend more time in Stories than in Feed. ” Because many people aren’t really posting anything anymore, but instead use the platform to send direct messages and talk in group chats.
Platforms that were built for us to stay connected with family and friends are showing very little of the content they produce. Last year, in an Instagram Story, the second biggest celebrity on the platform, Kylie Jenner, shared her concern. “Make Instagram Instagram again.” Stop trying to be Tiktok, I just want to see cute pics of my friends. Regards, everyone,” she wrote.
Ironically, some people don’t even want to see photos of Jenner on their feeds. If only social media apps had ad blockers that could block promotional and influencer content, it would be a true “social” experience where we see posts and interact with our family and friends.
This is mostly because we are bombarded with a “feed” instead of a “timeline” which is just an algorithm trying to push posts full of companies trying to promote their products , or content creators filling in the blanks with self-promoting content. , Engagement is all that matters. But was engagement really the point of getting on social media for users?
are user products
For the companies that make platforms like Meta, Google and Twitter, it’s definitely about making money. And advertising is one of the best, if not the only, ways to do this. But this approach seems like a trap. Users came to the platform to “connect with people they know”, which had always been the tagline for all platforms, but now they get “suggested” posts and promotions.
Take the case of Instagram, which started as a simple square-shaped photo-sharing platform, and contained only likes and comments, not even messages, is now the central platform for any company to push its promotion. It seems like people have started making products that will look good on Instagram.
It’s not really the platform’s fault that they are focusing on the money. Of course, if you’re building a “social” media platform, the most important thing to focus on should be the users. But social media platforms face a huge challenge of monetization as the platforms are free to use and that is why they feel dependent on advertisements and investors.
AI behind the feed
The algorithms these platforms are using are nothing short of an AI marvel. It’s surprising how often we look at the topic we’re talking about and see reels that relate to our interests. On the other hand, it seems as though we are increasingly being pushed into our echo chambers. When you’re comfortable in your bubble, Instagram shows you a post about something, and if you like it, you’ll see more posts like this throughout the day. Even if you say you’re not interested in it and prefer something else, like Y, you still see X posts again after a few days, and you’re stuck in the cycle. Are.
Why not if this is what the platform wants – more engagement and more scrolling time. To be honest, we don’t want our feed to be dead someday and there’s nothing left to watch. It’s something that used to happen with Instagram when it had a chronological timeline with posts from people we followed, it would eventually expire, and we wouldn’t have anything new to look at, because No one used to post 1000 times a day.
That’s what was wanted with meta threads. Endless scrolling with branded content in your face all the time. It started off straight as an advertising platform. Thus, it came to an end as a social media platform. Same thing could happen to X if Elon Musk keeps doing this Promote content from creators on the platform, This is also why many people are moving to platforms like Mastodon, as it provides a more closed and private realm of conversation, and there is no bombardment of unwanted content.
however there is still hope
As more people move to WhatsApp group chats and other closed platforms instead of posting their day to their feed of social media, the more closed circles are becoming, which comes with less external interaction forming, Which has its downsides, but of course there are disadvantages as well. , Social media platforms have already tapped into this potential and have begun to capitalize on it.Customer Content OnlyX and on platforms like Instagram.
More than a platform to connect with people, these platforms were becoming a platform to consume content and increase your dopamine levels and eventually get addicted to scrolling. It’s countless how many times we close Instagram Reels because we get bored of them, only to reopen the app because we get bored without them. These tech giants did a great job of hacking our brains.
It seems like communities and small group interactions need to come back. It’s time to end the algorithmic mess these platforms create in our brains. The younger generation is already doing this.
An online community should feel like an online pub. It should have a liveliness, some regular, inside jokes, and an etiquette that can be somewhat well-enforced. They are comfortable places where a sense of belonging encourages participation and good behavior. “But now every social media website is like a pedestrian street with H&M and McDonald’s,” said one user on HackerNews. “A generic commercial space built with lots of money. It has no personality, it’s not safe, and no one feels at home there.” Why would you invest yourself in a place like that?
An amazing, but risky, business idea would be to create a social media platform that does not host advertisers on its platform and limits the number of people your posts reach to only your followers. For money, just one dollar per month will do.
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