Kylie Jenner is the most popular person on Instagram with 365 million followers
I keep hearing about this on NPR and it’s worth talking about. Instagram has recently been testing changes to its algorithm, particularly by favoring reels – short videos that mimic TikTok’s format – and more heavily featuring ads and suggested content. Instagram is not staying in their lane and is instead going after that sweet Gen Z market share. This is annoying many users, particularly artists, and high profile users like Kylie Jenner have complained about it. What’s more is that users are going to more photo-centric platforms like old school Flickr and Tumblr and new alternatives including Glass. Axios has a quick writeup that breaks it down very well and there’s more at the source:
Photographers, designers and other creative types turned off by Instagram’s pivot to TikTok-like features are tentatively moving to alternative platforms.
Why it matters: Instagram has long been a digital gallery space for artists of all kinds, helping them find an audience, connect with other creatives and land paid gigs.
But the Meta-owned platform’s gradual evolution into an ad- and shopping-heavy app that favors short-form video and algorithmically selected content has left the future of digital art-sharing in flux.
The context: Instagram has been de-emphasizing still imagery for years. But more recent changes, such as a focus on shopping and a big increase in the amount of suggested content that appears in users’ feeds, has forced a reckoning.
Instagram became a worldwide phenomenon thanks to its focus on “visual storytelling,” writes photographer and tech journalist Om Malik. But, he says, it’s now “all about marketing and selling substandard products and mediocre services by influencers with less depth than a sheet of paper.”
Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently walked back some of the most controversial changes, though he signaled that the Instagram of yore will not be returning.
A handful of rival apps and platforms are reporting recent spikes in user activity.
They include relatively new upstarts, like Glass (for photographers of all kinds) and Grainery (for film photographers, specifically).
Even old favorites like Flickr — a pioneer in digital photography-sharing that owned the loyalty of serious photographers in the mid-2000s — are seeing a boost, and some creatives are turning back to Tumblr, another longtime artist haven. Still others are headed to VSCO, which got its start as a photo editing tool before pivoting into a sharing platform.
I used to use TikTok occasionally but have uninstalled it because it’s incredibly addictive. I also noticed that it was changing what I was interested in. I only use Instagram a few times a day and of course it’s not as immersive as TikTok, but it’s for photos and those don’t keep your attention as long. I have noticed more reels and suggested posts in my feed there so I just haven’t used it as much. The change in Instagram’s format shows what the apps strive for – to keep us glued to them to capitalize on our time and shape our interests as consumers. They don’t want to provide a service, they exist to make money. It’s what happens when companies favor growth above user experience, and it has such a chilling effect on individuals and on society. They try to get us hooked so that they can sell our time. Instagram surely did all kinds of calculations about the trade off in revenue for changing their business model. They rolled some of that back but they’ll keep pushing to favor cash over people.
As an aside I’m so grateful that Twitter remains the same. It will surely change eventually but it’s my favorite platform. Pinterest deserves credit for staying true to their userbase too.
When Adam was on Twitter live taking questions Indecided to try to reset the algorithm for my Instagram. I unfollowed a ton of accounts, scrolled my feed and not stories, marked every single ad I got As irrelevant.
I did This for several hours a day for 3 whole days (was traveling for work). I realized I still Hadn’t seen a still picture from a single person I knew In real life. I was Shocked at how far it had gotten from what I used To use it for without me noticing!
I had the same on my instagram app on my phone, interestingly, when I wish instagram via firefox – no ads at all (it maybe because I’ve got Privacy Badger, Ghostery and uBlock Origin installed on FF)
Apparently, you can click the Instagram logo on the top and it will bring a dropdown you can click on “following” to switch to see people you follow! Crazy you have to do that. They’ll probably get rid of that soon
I love Pinterest. I have dozens of boards for home, beauty, fashion. I used it when I was remodeling my dining room. It’s like a digital vision board.
I’ve avoided Tik Tok so far and not currently tempted. I’ve abandoned Twitter and Facebook for my mental health.
Instagram is what I use the most for my mindless scrolling. I like to get ideas from it. I noticed the push towards reels too. I have a page for my kitty. A photo post gets me an average of 5 likes and reaches maximum 15 people. A reel gets me THOUSANDS of views and hundreds of likes. And I’m not that particularly inventive and my ginger kitty is barely distinguishable from the thousands of other ginger kitties with their own pages. I often wondered why my reels can take off. Maybe the algorithm is primed for it.
I almost always get reels not still photos of (mostly ginger because they are my favorite and what I usually click like on) kitty accounts as suggestions.
Twitter needs to make serious changes to take care of hate accounts and nasty, misleading posts.
They all do, but it’s a feature not a bug. More clicks, more reposts, more comments, more eyeballs on “controversial” content.
WE are the product.
They also just donated a lot of money to Republican governors who are making abortion illegal. When asked about this, they denied it then got shown receipts then they claimed they also gave to Democrats, but oh dear there were no receipts for that.
Twitter is my favorite of all of these apps, but even they are problematic.
Twitter is a place where you can get information quickly when you need too, but it is also just such a bitter, nasty environment. Occasionally I’ll scroll and think “why am I not on here more?… Oh. Yeah.”
Twitter notifications show up on my phone and it’s like, super vague and dramatic but also interesting so I go to my app and it’s usually someone I don’t know, sort of related to issues I do know about, and then I have to scroll to find out what is happening. It’s dumb, But I guess that works getting me on the app!
Vero is the way but don’t treat it like Instagram. People are pretty serious on there about sharing art and it is so awesome.
Twitter is definitely my favorite. I have a bookstagram but otherwise am not very interested in Instagram. I also noticed about a month ago that my posts went from regularly having 30-50 likes, to more like 15-25, despite my follower count increasing. it appears this is related to how the algorithm is working (or not working, for that matter).
I have zeeeeero interest in Reels, either making or watching them. I do have Tik Tok and it is VERY addicting, but I do enjoy the cooking videos on it. but I would say if you’ve avoided it so far, keep it up.
Facebook exists but despite opening it multiple times a day I don’t actually use it much.
I have a bookstagram, too, and had built my following to over 10k. I made some money which helped me cover extra single mom expenses. But lately all I see are reels in my feed, or suggested followers – not the posts from the people I actually follow 🙁 I have to do their individual profiles to find their pictures and then I discover I’m weeks behind. I hate reels and I hate the auto play – if I wanted to be on TikTok, I would be – and instagram is punishing people now who only post pictures. My last post they only showed to 300 of my followers.
I know it sounds silly – oh no, people didn’t see my post! – but I don’t get child support and that extra $ was paying for baseball tickets or skiing for my kid 🙁
I have a Bookstagram also, and I love going there for beautiful photos + reviews. I don’t really want to watch videos. But yeah, that’s what’s popping up for me too. :-/
I also have a Bookstagram, and the way they push making reels is ridiculous. Reels are cute, but I mostly like reading people’s reviews and seeing their nice photos. I don’t need anything fancier than that, and I don’t want to *need* to make anything fancier than that in order to gain followers. It’s frustrating — the only way I’ve really gained followers is by boosting a post once a month.
I keep returning to Instagram because I genuinely love the Bookstagram community, but if it weren’t for that I wouldn’t be on there at all.
I use FB to keep up with friends and family and to let them know how I’m doing. It’s still good for that. Instagram is nothing but reels and ads now. I never got into TikTok and don’t plan to.
Facebook is moving this way too though. Cut from an article on the topic: “In a recent memo the Meta executive in charge of Facebook, Tom Alison, spelled out the plan: rather than prioritize posts from accounts people follow, Facebook’s main feed will, like TikTok, start heavily recommending posts regardless of where they come from.”
Gotta get that ad $$
I deleted every app that has things set up to automatically play video. It was too addictive and very unnecessary in my life. I’m probably still too addicted to my phone but at least I’m more in control.
I dumped FB years ago, and as for IG, I only look if someone close to me send me a link. I was very much involved in IG but alas Zuckerberg bought it and destroyed all of the pleasures that it once had.
As for TikTok, I don’t look at it much, only periodically.
FB, IG as well as TikTok, have been manipulated solely towards consumerism. Plus, it’s a complete waste of my time.
Honestly, as soon as Instagram stopped showing your feed in chronological order it became unuseable to me. Part of what has kept me on tumblr for 10 years is I the simple ability to scroll until I reach where I left off the day before, not be confused because the top post is from 3 days ago. It also makes it impossible to find posts again- close the app, then five minutes later you could scroll your feed for hours and not find a post you just looked at.
The chronological order was the best! Now what happens is I look at a post but forget to notice who posted it (I follow a lot of people), then accidentally refresh and wham, it’s gone. If I didn’t notice who posted it, I now have to search high and low to find it again.
That was the biggest thing that pushed me off, followed closely by too many suggested posts. If I can’t see the posts I want to see, and my followers can’t get easy access to my posts, then what is the point of the app? Of course, I’m a nobody with like 7 followers, but if I was a creator depending on Insta for leads or income, I’d be very frustrated with the changes. At the end of the day, though, what do you expect from a free app? They’re going to prioritize their income stream over users’ enjoyment every time.
I am not on TikTok because I feel like I spend too much time on social media as it is. I like the TikTok videos that are posted on Instagram though.
I really do miss pretty photos and captions. From my friends and the accounts I CHOOSE to follow. I think it was last week or the week before when my IG switched to a weird format for videos on the feed, you have to scroll twice to get past each video. I realized I spent many minutes rolling and never saw a photo or video from a friend> All these ads and suggested accounts. It’s frustrating. I like to follow funny accounts, activists, celebrities, but I still really want to see what my friends are up to. I’ve been less satisfied with IG lately. :-/
Just in time! I’m so annoyed with IG these days and need alternatives to take its place. I loved their the initial format and if I wanted more reels I’d be on TikTok more. Over time I’ve quit Pinterest, deleted Facebook about 15 years ago. Twitter is my fav but I carefully curate. I’ll try Glass, Grainery and VSCO. Thanks so much for this post today.
I have Instagram for business. I had TikTok for fun, but my camera was frequently being activated. The little green light on my iPhone was constantly lit when I picked up my phone and then it would fade out and off.
There is evidence the developers use it to spy. And that TikTok in China isn’t at all the same. It’s educational and shuts off at night.
It’s a time waster imo and also too invasive.
@ Wiglet Watcher, that’s creepy as hell. I would be placing a note over the camera.
I just removed IG, FB and Twitter from my phone. I need a break. I’m working towards putting my phone down an hour before bed and if I can accomplish that, I’m going to make my teenager do it too. We’ll see. He’s only ever on Snap, Snapchat? But I think my house needs a social media/screens detox.
I have a dogstagram. I’ve noticed the random reels from people I don’t follow, all of the fricking ads, and that my engagement has dropped (probably because other people have too many random reels to get through). It was already frustrating when the algorithm would hide someone you interacted with regularly, but it has gotten ridiculous.
You can get your people back! In instagram, the top left right when you open it you can scroll people you set to favorites or just the people you have followed. It’s all that’s kept me on the app.
That was super helpful! Thank you!
All the alternatives mentioned in this article seem to be for professional photographers (or serious hobbyists).
Where’s an app for us who just want to see pics from our friends?
I hate being force fed videos everywhere!! It’s so distracting and addicting. I’ve started to notice videos on my Pinterest feed too which I absolutely hate.
Agree. My pics went from 1000+ likes to less than 300. It’s much harder to find clients now. (I’m an illustrator)
I like figure skating, so the reels from skaters are a good thing. The other things I really follow are knitting and sewing. One sewist who had great content announced she was no longer doing videos because it took too damn long. She could take photos without much interruption of her design business, but it took most of a day to do a well shot and edited vid. The algorithm wants several of those a week.
One thing I’ve noticed is that as Instagram turned into a professional venue, friends stopped posting their personal projects. Sad.
I agree, the Reels are way too many. I want to see pictures on Insta, not videos. Too distracting and agitating. Still pictures are beautiful and calming. Stills help counter the built-in nervous tension of scrolling to begin with! Videos increase it, especially when there is loud or frenetic music involved.
I’m gen x and feel too old for TikTok. My daughter is gen z and loves it. I have Insta for my business but I find it pretty boring over there. At least with fb I feel there are more personal exchanges. I also really set my filters so when I share things about my family etc. only ‘close friends’ can see it.
I find Facebook are pushing reels a lot too. Never watch them, zero interest in making any. If I could disable or hide them, it would be brilliant. Facebook Watch seems to have faded away… never see it mentioned anywhere.
I would much rather read an article in under 5 mins, than sit through a long video or podcast on the same thing, wondering when they’ll ever get to their point. Kind of why I prefer Twitter over the other socials.
I find TikTok pretty boring. There’s so much content but so much of it is mindless that even if you follow people who do interesting things, you get shown too much idiotic content (aka influencer “ads” pretending to be content) in your feed.
Instagram has become the same way. I don’t get content I actually look at. I get shown so many influencer content “ads” that it’s annoying now. I have to really search to find real content that from people I actually follow which used to be in my feed.
I never go on Facebook anymore. It’s become a cesspool.
Twitter and Pinterst I can still use as intended.
Instagram knows what we want, they just don’t care.
Meta is about to have a meltdown of epic proportions as companies like Apple and general consumer education is making it more difficult for them to make money on ads by gutting their Pixel tech
That’s why they are panic copying TikTok and pushing VR so hard. Unfortunately, we as a society are not ready for VR. Additionally, they are competing on physical product (their VR goggles) against Apple which is one of, if not the, the most successful hardware companies in the world. They will not win that competition.
They are in big trouble and they know it.
@Colby +1
Instagram has gone from being the most pleasant social media app to being completely unusable.
I definitely use Instagram way less than I used to and it’s probably due to reels but also due to the ads and “suggested accounts.” I follow who I want to follow, please stop polluting my feed with ads I don’t want and people I don’t want to follow. I love Instastories but I rarely scroll for more than 5-6 Instaposts before I close out the app.
Yup, you can scroll scroll scroll scroll scroll and see nothing but suggested accounts. It’s infuriating.
I only use IG’s web interface. The mobile interface with all the ads and other junk is crap.
I’d also like to add that Instagram has been shunning a certain group of countries for years.
Many countries do not have ig music or reels functionality, so that translates to:
1. Muted reels and videos (even if someone is talking on them, they are still muted)
2. We can view reels, on stories or sometimes full, but cannot create.
I never wanted to go to tiktok but watching silent videos really took me there (I have it on another phone so I only log in once a day or less)
I used to love Instagram but it’s been a real terrible experience in the past few years. Just shows they do not care about the 3rd world countries as if our content doesn’t deserve the same features and tools to create.
I really hope another great platform pops up and we can ditch it for good.
Vapid and mindless don’t begin to cover these pictures of Kylie.
I hate reels. I follow so many interior design pages on IG and they’ve all switched to reels and it makes me mad. I need to be able to stare at a photo and look closely at the design elements instead of a 1 second flash I get. I flip back to Pinterest for sure.
I hate how instagram has changed, now I see 90% of suggested post and only 10% of those I follow. It really pisses me off.
I’m an artist so I guess add my gripes to that pile from other artists, make non-video art is so different from making video content. And process videos take SOOO MUCH TIME and make making art much harder. And on a personal level, I really wish instagram would go back to chronological. Also my posts now are lucky if they reach 40 out of my very relatively small 700 followers. I thought it was that instagram wants to force me to boost every post, which, the one time I tried that, just confused everyone, but now I’m thinking it’s that and ALSO that instagram’s algorithm is terrible. Also, reels is just a worse user experience then tiktoks. I don’t trust TikTok at all, but at least their software is FUN!