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I get that you need to delete out the trash it serves up but I've been doing this for days, it's an endless conveyer belt of codswallap
The worst is the hilarious skits it serves up, if I wanted comedy I'd go on a Stewart Lee (or Daniel Kitson if he actually allowed it) YouTube binge, or even better see them for real, someone who's spent 30 years perfecting a craft, honing it, pre-screening it, honing it some more before releasing it to the public, not the formulaic guff that you've presented because you think it's a good idea but now you've realised you've got absolutely no imagination and are scraping the barrel for content, from 8 million different accounts.
Id like to keep it as there's a few things I'm actually interested in, I find it useful to push my self to draw and post images but I think today is the day to get rid
Is worth the effort to keep culling?
Well if you want to use it it’s worth putting in some effort like you said. I nearly deleted a while back but decided to just delete a lot of people and mute the rest. There’s not much of a feed left now to annoy me. A few hashtags I follow, and some targeted ads.
YouTube though, that’s in the toilet. The algorithm seems to be forcing these “creators” to pump out volume over quantity and they’re all at it. Clickbaity thumbnails every day clogging up your feed. Unsubscribed from some great channels just cos they’re playing this game.
Agreed, the channels I actively follow have all kicked back against the push for two to three videos a week and instead go for a quality video every one to three weeks.
The ones that have upped the output just feel like you are watching for the sake of it rather than getting anything out of it.
I'm on the fence about Facebook, I used to stay on there to see wider family updates but there is rarely anything notable, mainly it's just click baity shorts that end up distracting me for 20 minutes.
Is worth the effort to keep culling?
Maybe try adding rather than culling. I get - new posts from people / things that I follow with a few promoted posts inbetween, then when they're done I'll start getting algorithm generated stuff - which used to be broadly OK but seemed to take a sudden swerve towards awful (more so on desktop rather than my phone oddly)
At the bottom of the new posts you follow, before it goes to algorithm stuff theres usually a little link to just keep seeing older posts by those you follow, but they'll of course be posts you've seen.
If you're seeing nothing or very little of what you like before you get that algorithm stuff.... just follow more good accounts.
mainly it’s just click baity shorts that end up distracting me for 20 minutes.
Exactly this for me, so I've deleted the app for 2023.
Re. IG, IIRC the browser version is better than the app when it comes to fewer ads. In my feed, it showed my chosen accounts at the top, then a "that's all your stuff" message and all the algorithm guff was after that.
Yeah thanks, I have been pretty selective following accounts so it's probably that which is causing some of the issue
IG (and FB, plus even YouTube) to an extent are trying to go after the whole TikTok thing, which is why they're trying so hard to push short videos. Once my Insta feed gets to random stuff that I'm not following, I just close the app.
It's classic corporate where they must appeal to everybody, so they're losing what actually made their platforms popular in the first place.
If I want to see what people are doing, I'll go on Facebook.
If I want to see some nice pictures, I'll go on Instagram.
If I want to see videos about something I'm interested in, I'll go on YouTube.
If I want to waste <insert applicable period of time> watching random stuff, I'll go on TikTok.
On my phone I mainly use IG for posting. For browsing I use my old iPad mini. The OS is so old it can’t update the app and I’m on a version before it spoiled it with all the reels. I just wish you could turn them off in the settings.
Yeah thanks, I have been pretty selective following accounts so it’s probably that which is causing some of the issue
as a bit of housekeeping.... if your getting a lot of crap being offered up to scroll through then, especially on a phone, its easy to accidentally 'like' crappy content as you scroll past it without noticing - that interaction encourages IG to serve up more content like to. It'll also offer it up to people you're linked to and tell them its because you like it 🙂
So its worth going though your 'account activity' and clearing out any erroneous 'likes'. Similarly you can accidentally 'save' posts as you scroll past as well and this can have the same effect.
Instagram is great fun. If you find a poster becoming too narcissistic just delete them. Too many to camera monologues about their day and the trouble they've had picking out a dress to wear that day. Or when they're away for 2 days and come on and say 'sorry I've been so quiet on here.' That's when you know they're up their arse. The vanity of some women astounds me and I have to delete if I feel like trolling them. I follow loads of outdoorsy people and loads of music accounts, I'm into drum and bass and there's loads of that, djs and producers. Loads of the outdoorsy ladies are easy on the eye, lol.
I never got Instagram in the first place. It appeared to be Flickr with a "make my photos look shit" filter applied. I don't get what niche it's supposed to be filling.
That said, it's the same argument as any social media platform. It takes a degree of effort to curate your feed so that you see what you want to see. Twitter is great, or was until Muskrat took over. Facebook is fine, though I probably should install Purity at some point. YouTube is brilliant so long as you stay away from the comments. Ironically perhaps, the one place I use that I can't curate is right here.
, the one place I use that I can’t curate is right here.
You mean you haven't found the like button yet?
If you tap where it says "Instagram" in the top left, you can select to see "following only". Its a bit annoying that you have to do this every time but it does cut out a lot of the dross.
If you are unfollowing accounts on IG and YouTube can you add @ukgravelco instead?
I promise no adverts on IG from me and alot less than 3 videos a week 😉
Too many videos on Instagram now - and no way in the App to stop them auto-playing if you're on WiFi. I was on it this morning for the first time in a few weeks and my feed was full of crap that played as I scrolled past. I don't think I'll be using it again any time soon.
Instagram via mobile web only - I don't use the app. So far, my feed isn't full of spam. Probably only a matter of time.
I have the apps, but only use them to view a specific item or video.
Ironically perhaps, the one place I use that I can’t curate is right here.
Don’t need to, I check out any thread that catches my eye, if it holds no interest, I go to another, or check out the latest posts on anything long-running that I might have been following.
One of the main reasons I’ve been on this site since it became STW, around 2003, IIRC, is because the format is just so damned easy to navigate, whereas most seem so counterintuitive.
Thankfully social media is generally going in a direction I think is pretty lame so I'm getting my time back. (I don't think of this place as social media in that way - it's more of a news/discussion site).
Instagram was the one I liked but it'll probably go the way of Twitter - I log out one day then find I don't miss it and have zero urge to go back.
Mostly use IG for an event I'm involved with where it's a great tool and beneficial overall, but my personal interest in browsing on there is waning these days.
It's a shame as there's some great content on both IG and Twitter but Facebook made it a real effort to find or see what you want in IG among the mundane junk and ads they keep serving up. Facebook is only interested in what works for Facebook, fk em.
You can mute all the “suggested” content for 30 days by clicking the 3 dots on one of the suggested posts. That really helps filter out a lot of the crap.
If you tap where it says “Instagram” in the top left, you can select to see “following only”
This is why I love this place!
The only SM app I have on my phone is Instagram mainly to keep up with my kids, and a few friends in real life that post interesting pics. I was starting to think about ditching it as well due to all the junk. Won’t need to now!
😊
I don't get a lot of crap on my IG feed. Because 95% of the accounts I follow are rock climbing - generally bouldering - then that is pretty much all of my feed. Videos fine in this context.
I also know a lot of the posters, at least on nodding terms - outdoor bouldering is a small community - then it's a way of mutually supporting each other. That plus loads of good coaching and podcast linked content. All works really well. The rest is just amazing stuff from around the world.
Basically - IG seems to work really well for my particular obsession
ico86
Full Member
If you tap where it says “Instagram” in the top left, you can select to see “following only”. Its a bit annoying that you have to do this every time but it does cut out a lot of the dross.
I logged in just to make that point! It's two taps/clicks every time you look at Instagram, but the only content you see is from accounts you follow, in chronological order, newest first. No ads, promoted content or suggested reels. Makes Instagram useable again (for me at least), until the function is inevitably disabled some time in the future.
It's very usable if you want to watch videos of kittens and impractical DIY tips. If not, then less so.
I'm out of IG a few months ago. I won't be returning.