Instagram is Doing Too Much

Recently, using Instagram has given me the same level of frustration as using one of those infomercial-like 5-in-1 kitchen gadgets. It’s big, cumbersome, and takes up a decent amount of space on your kitchen countertop. For the first few months it makes life convenient, but it slowly becomes a drag when you have to clean the thing and find a large enough cabinet to store it properly so you can get your countertop space back. You get to a point where you just want to go back to using some basic pots, pans, and maybe even a microwave just to avoid the hassle of using your expensive kitchen gadget.
 

I remember when Instagram first launched, and it was mainly about sharing pictures (maybe with some hashtags thrown in for fun). Then it got acquired by Meta. Then the “sponsored posts” start appearing. Then the “snapchat stories” feature. Then the business accounts and shop integration. By this point, it was very clear that Instagram was trying to capture people’s attention to sell advertisements (much like Facebook, which I also can’t find enjoyable to use anymore). Even when they first introduced Reels I could still tolerate it, because it just never felt outwardly hostile to my attention span. It was irritating to use, sure, but I could still use it and connect with my friends just fine. 

Sometime last summer I updated my app and finally logged in after several months of not using it. The frustration set in as I scrolled for a solid minute through business posts and unrelated reels before I finally found one post from someone I follow. It's as if the “algorithm” for my home feed reset itself when I updated the app. By this point I checked my "Following" tab, and noticed that there were many business accounts that had to constantly post in order to get picked up by the "algorithm" that it drowned out the friends that I actively follow who don't post daily. I was so pissed off I deactivated my account.
 

I’m sure the exact moment in which Instagram went downhill is up for debate, but it’s no secret that TikTok completely changed the social media landscape (TikTok also wasn’t very interesting to me, but that's mainly because I just enjoy long-form content). I don’t blame TikTok for making social media worse (that feels like a hot-take), but it certainly exacerbates a growing problem within social media itself. We all know that these social media apps are free to the user because the user is the product (TNSTAAFL). We all know that there is a large amount of user data collected in order to sell us advertisements (and it’s incredibly invasive). I’m basically under the assumption that most of these FAANG companies partially function as an advertising agency. All I wanted was to post pictures with my friends for my friends, not check out the next reel to sell me something I can’t afford to buy (the economy doesn’t lend itself to impulse purchases these days).

 I highly recommend watching this video from Technology Connections to better understand the frustration people have with social media.

My sister tells me that sometimes her friends periodically deactivate their accounts when they need a break. In addition to the advertisements, Instagram also sends you notifications to "come back and look at all the content you're missing!!!" which doesn't sit well with some people, me included. Frankly, I'm glad there are people who realize they need a break and take one. 

I firmly believe that life is too short to hate things. I know that if I continue to use Instagram, then I’m just going to end up hating it. I don’t want to do that, or use something that invokes that much irritation in me. So, I’ll just have to give up on it for now. The internet is big enough for different platforms to exist, and I'm genuinely glad that there are people out there who want to build the internet they want to use. I will miss Instagram, but for now I’m more than happy to give it up in order to focus on tech products that I genuinely love.