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Just about everyone agrees that the algorithms used by the big social media companies in Silicon Valley are somehow broken. They were originally designed to personalize the content you see in your daily social media feed, sort of like having your own personal curator aware of your tastes, preferences, and interests. However, now they are being used for one purpose only: optimizing engagement and maximizing the time you spend on their platforms.
To be fair, that makes good business sense. After all, social media platforms are businesses, and they need to make a profit. So, by optimizing for engagement, they can sell more ads. The more ads they sell, the more money they make. From a cold-hearted, purely capitalist point of view, it makes sense that big social media giants now view their users as guinea pigs for their elaborate algorithmic experiments.
New algorithm changes at Instagram
That’s why the latest moves being taken by Instagram are so interesting. Instagram says it is now working on changes to its core algorithm. The biggest change is something that can be thought of as a giant “reset” button. The new “reset” option from Instagram will enable a user to clear a social media feed of all recommended posts. In short, if something has been recommended by an algorithm, it will be scrubbed from the feed.
In theory, that should enable users to see a wider variety of posts. And it should help to cut down on all the polarizing content out there, as well as all the misinformation that is out there. You’ll see more posts from your friends and family, and fewer posts from popular influencers who are doing everything they can to get you to click on their content.
But is Instagram going far enough?
Certainly, Instagram should be applauded for taking this step. But here’s the thing: the change is not a voluntary one. It’s stemming from a new UK law (the Online Safety Act) that is designed to make social media companies more accountable for the content showing up on their platforms. And it’s also designed to avoid any negative repercussions from upcoming child safety codes expected to go into effect in April that will force social media companies to ensure that only safe, age-appropriate content is being shown to children.
So, once again, social media companies are showing us that they only act when they absolutely, positively have to. Excuse me for being cynical, but would Instagram really have embarked on a change to its algorithm if it didn’t have to? It’s simply making this change to avoid potential lawsuits.
Moreover, it could be argued that Instagram’s algorithm change does not go nearly far enough. After all, even Instagram admits that, as soon as you hit the “reset” button, it’s going to start gathering new personalized data all over again. Within no time at all, your social media feed will once again be populated by clickbait, influencer posts, polarizing content, and misinformation.
In many ways, it reminds me of the constant battle to get rid of spam in your email inbox. You can take whatever steps you want to take to purge your email of spam, such as unsubscribing from content and nuking megabytes of content at one time. But the spam just keeps on coming.
People and not algorithms
That leads me to a potentially radical idea: people and not algorithms. Maybe it’s time to go back to curated feeds from human beings who are being paid for their unique abilities to curate content, without so much reliance on AI-powered algorithms to optimize content.
That might not be practical, given the sheer volume of content generated on social media these days. But we can at least do better than a few nips-and-tucks when it comes to the algorithms. If we’re going to make social media a safer, nicer, and more enjoyable place to spend our time, then we shouldn’t be treated like lab rats, baited into clicking on content in exchange for the next dopamine hit.
