Colin Friedersdorf writing in The Atlantic about why they Why I Hate Instagram Now

Meta, Instagram’s parent company, still says its mission is giving people “the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” As it thwarts my efforts to see all the photos posted by people I know and chose to follow, I call bullshit. Injecting Reels in my feed, then refusing to let me abolish those diversions, hasn’t just put my loved ones in competition with viral nonsense––it has repeatedly subverted my attempts to ensure that my loved ones win.

This is what drives me insane about modern social media because it’s not even just Instagram. In the constant search for engagement, they serve you entertainment before the things that you actually want to see. You know, posts from the people you follow.

Whenever pressed on this, Instagram gets all hand wavy, and they roll out their practiced spiel about video engagement being up blah blah blah. It clearly works for the things they wish to measure (presumably advert impressions and attention) but not for anyone I ever talk to about these issues. There still isn’t a place for us photographers to go, and that still makes me sad.