I see a lot of Instagram posts hating on “the algorithm.” I can see and understand why it’s frustrating to so many people, but it’s time to stop blaming the algorithm. It’s doing exactly what is was intended to do. If you want to exist outside of the confines that someone else built, it’s time to find a new space to do so.
There is no singular person or action that’s pushing your content out of feeds, it’s just that people aren’t engaging with it. Period. There is very little publicly available data, and we often think that it’s the visible data that is being tracked. Things such as “llikes,” “saves,” and “comments.” Those visible indicators are probably very little of what Instagram is tracking. They know if you slow your scrolling by a microsecond to look at a post a little longer, they track if you watch the whole video or tap tap tap to skip Stories or scroll through a whole carousel of images. Even if you never like a single photo from a particular account you can still be engaged in their content and that’s what the algorithm is going to feed you. The algorithm is more interested in the unconsious actions than the conscious.
So if you believe for whatever reason that you are being banned by Instagram it’s not them, it’s you. I’m not saying this to be cruel, but it’s the truth. The algorithm isn’t manipulated to punish a select few. It’s a highly intelligent organism that shows users EXACTLY what they want to see.
I don’t trust big tech companies. This sort of behavior isn’t what I want to participate it. I see only two ways to hold them accountable: 1. legislation (which, let’s be real, will take a long-ass time) and 2. to disengage with the platforms that aren’t treating you the way you want to be treated. Your data is incredibily valuable to them and you have the option to withhold that data.
Removing yourself from the platforms is not without consequence. Some businesses rely solely on these platforms for marketing, but the problem is that it’s just going to get harder to be seen there.
Until the algorithm is set to improve my life rather than hold me hostage on the app, I’m going to put very little energy there. I have Instagram installed on an old phone that remains at my studio. No more evenings spent scrolling, just occasional posts and annoucements and a brief scroll through close friends to see what they are up to. That’s it for me until things change.
So if you are feeling “shadowbanned” I’m not even totally sure what that means, but the term comes up a lot. I encourage you to find other ways to communicate with the people you are seeking to serve. Email newsletters, good old fashioned blogs (oh hi there) and a million other ways to communicate with people.