Instagram is such a double edged sword and some days I regret wielding it. I have a 15 minute time limit set on it, which I sometimes break, but for the most part honor. And for good reason.
Instagrams arguably worst feature is the feed of things you didnāt ask for, paired with the brain rotting āreelsā. I canāt deny that the content Instagram feeds you can be highly entertaining and engaging. Feeds is exactly the right verb here though, because itās not really things you asked for. And this hyper-engaging, short form content brings a slew of negatives. For one, and Iām sure many can relate, is the absolute time wasted on them, or at the very least the feeling of time wasted. Second, and I think this one is the worst and least talked about, but there are plenty of awful things fed to you. From awful, racist or plain horrible comments to reactionary content (examples include people slandering things you like, people doing very crazy things, near death experiences). I do enjoy a few reels related to football or sports, but in general I am always left with a sour taste in my mouth. Whatās worse is that you canāt really explicitly tell Instagram to āfeedā you only this and that, you can pretty much just say āI donāt like thisā and let the algorithm find more stuff you didnāt really want.
Instagram is a great tool for staying in contact with your friends. Itās the modern Facebook, and itās the only platform a good portion of my friends are active on. This is a great positive, and being able to share pictures of your life is a wonderful feature for me.
But the rest is horrible. One day, perhaps, something like Pixelfed will take off, although I hope it never decides to adopt short form content.