Instagram's algorithm boss warns engagement drops 50% when users turn off recommendations
Instagram's head says engagement falls by half without the algorithm
Adam Mosseri told an Australian press briefing that turning off Instagram's recommendation system can cut engagement by up to 50% and crater satisfaction scores. He argued a chronological feed gets overwhelmed by brands and publishers, so users miss content and spend less time. But the article notes the metric he frames as a warning is exactly the outcome Australia's Digital Duty of Care bill aims to produce, and that Instagram itself has said AI is increasing time spent.
If you go to a chronological feed, it ends up getting overwhelmed with content from companies, brands, and publishers.
- embedding-shape
I think the single best change Instagram done in a decade is the "ad break" that happens once you've scrolled through enough posts, which stops you for N seconds to stare at some random ad. I think I can scroll through 2-3 posts before my scrolling gets locked, and I close the app, and now I barely scroll Instagram at all anymore. Thank you Instagram!
- brookst
Tobacco exec says smoking falls by half with low-nicotine cigs.
- networkOne
"Adam Mosseri has warned that users who switch off Instagram’s recommendation system end up with a worse experience, telling an Australian press briefing that engagement can fall by as much as 50% and that satisfaction scores fall off a cliff." - Well, isn't this just that we fear from technology... that the makers of their social media applications feel that their products are simply there to create our experiences?
Well, I have news for you. Social media creates nothing. It lives by getting us to not act... to sit in a mind-numbing silent purgatory, voyeuristically watching the fictitious 3rd-person accounts of the subjective experience of others... as the synchronisation of our genetic inner core with the paths we take in the social realm becoming less and less harmonious... since because of social media we take less paths... since you know... we don't act.
So if the addiction from the behavioural algorithms is all you have to engage with your users, why aren't you classed as drug suppliers?
- koe123
I have often argued for it on here, but I want eg the EU to ban these kinds of recommender algorithm's. It’s all about weaponizing your nervous system against you just to show ads. If we ban it tomorrow society literally becomes better not worse. Why do American big tech companies have the “right” to cook our brains? It affects our politics, our relationships, etc
- coatmatter
Bluesky likely knows this problem well. The pro is that I never find myself stuck there. The con is that I just end up somewhere else (including this orange website). Time to ctrl-w.
- dumberquestions
I don't know what the right balance is, but there should be some sort of friction. Feeds shouldn't be infinitely scrollable, for instance, and users could be made explicitly aware of how much time they're spending.
Some people think this should all fall back on personal responsibility, but the way I see it, introducing highly addictive algorithms should've been regulated the same way adding addictive chemicals to food is.
- alpineman
>> If you go to a chronological feed, it ends up getting overwhelmed with content from companies, brands, and publishers
Not if you unsubscribe from companies, brands, and publishers. You're welcome.
- petterroea
For a lot of people that's a good thing