Got frustrated with Instagram, did some research/experiments, and this is my conclusion.

My name is Olivia. I am a design student currently attending a university in California. It's a bizarre major choice for a school that primarily is centered toward fields within STEM. These last two years have opened my eyes to the detrimental effects social media has placed upon my desire to become a fashion designer. I currently attend the wrong school in terms of becoming a fashion designer. It is a school that does not offer the connections needed to have access into the fashion industry. During my time in high school I was not ready to head to a college focused on the arts as most of them where too far away from home. Though I was fortunate enough to be accepted into a highly thought of college that still had a design department, it does not offer me what I need to succeed. As I have realized this, I have turned my focus on using social media as a way to gain exposure for my work. Within the last two years, it has become evident to me that Instagram is not for the people, particularly small businesses and artists given Instagram’s controversial updates. I have taken the time to gather information from my own personal research on my account as well as points made from social media. I hope that with providing information about how Instagram has been increasingly frustrating for those that hope to improve their business, it can spread light on issues that need to be dealt with.

I have spent the last year trying to find way to boost the relationships I have with my followers and increase engagement. I have downloaded countless apps trying to figure out the best time and day to post. I switched to a business profile as I thought that would make me appear more serious about my work and my love for fashion, yet nothing seems to work and has instead decreased my interactions. I have come to the conclusion that it is not me that is the problem but instead the algorithms implemented as of late to Instagram.

The most controversial update is the change of posts in a chronological order. Though the new update was meant to cater to users’ individual likes and interests it has declined engagement for many. There was significant negative feedback, with many users asking their followers to turn on post notifications in order to make sure they see updates. This is something that users should not have to do. No user should not have to beg on a site that is so expansive, versatile and global for people to look at their work. Social media is a place for instantaneous connection around the world and there should not be any limitations in doing so. Chronological order allowed you to see everything. People followed people to see their posts for a reason. They liked their posts and wished to see more but why did their engagement declined? They have the followers but none of them are liking their post. User @/iamareno or Karen Yeung, a notable YouTuber and social media fashion influencer had found a massive drop in engagement ever since the change in algorithms. She took to her Instagram story to ask her followers if they were even seeing her posts pop up in their feed. The response she received was shocking; more than half her followers do not see her posts anymore. Chronological allowed you to know where you left off from the last time you accessed Instagram. Users are more willing to keep scrolling if there is an endpoint that they can reach. With the new update there is an evident desire on Instagram’s behalf for users to interact with sponsored ads. This can still be done with a chronological order as there is a higher chance of users staying on the app to reach that desired endpoint. I can admit from my own experience that I have exited out of the app due to pure frustration and stress because of the new algorithm. The chaotic order of the posts and constant rearrangement every time my feed is refreshed, has left me disappointed and beyond frustrated.

It has been stated that the new algorithm is solely based on a user’s activity. If it is based on the user’s activity, then why is a lack of interaction common amongst users? The ratio between followers and likes has increased enormously, there maybe be many other reasons contributing to this, but it has only gotten worse with the new algorithm. Posts that are more relevant will be pushed to the top for visibly while those that don’t make that cut off get lost in the vast sea of other rejects. This update has promoted a society that values everyone to be the same. There is a severe lack of creativity and originality as the posts that make it to the top are usually those of celebrities or those that fit the current standard of beauty and life. It has increased competition amongst those trying to use social media as a business tool and has led to users taking drastic measures to make themselves more noticeable. (This has not only been noticed by users, but national news programs have even reported such behavior.) This point can be exemplified in the Logan Paul YouTube scandal in January 2018. Artists and small businesses have no way to promote themselves when all the top posts are coming from the same people. There is no way for them to expose themselves to a new market. As a student in a school that doesn’t support the arts, it has made it extremely difficult for me to promote myself online when a site as expansive and global as Instagram does little to support me. Instagram’s user demographics are primarily the youth, particularly those in the age range of college students. In 2018, more than 70% of the 1 billion users where under the age of 35. About 540 million users were in the age range of 18—34 (Source: Hootsuite). This is a curial time period for this age group as social media is a way to market themselves for future careers purposes. One can argue that the youth uses Instagram solely to look at posts, particularly for the sake of social interaction and recreation but times have rapidly changed with the emergence of social media influencers. More and more of the youth are looking to social media as a way to get jobs.

It becomes disheartening when you can’t get the response you want on your posts. You begin to fear that it is something you are doing wrong. The new algorithm is said to be based on your activity but what does it mean when you have a post that can’t surpass 100 likes, yet its impressions/reach reaches well over 2,000. Social media has integrated itself into daily life and become an illness to many, including myself. In May 2017, a survey conducted by United Kingdom's Royal Society for Public Health, featuring 1,479 people aged 14–24, asked them to rate social media platforms depending on anxiety, depression, loneliness, cyberbullying and body image (Source: rsph.org.uk). Their findings concluded that Instagram was "worst for young mental health”. It been a known fact that social media is a major cause for all those said illnesses, but Instagram’s new algorithm is a massive contributor to these statistics. You can very easily become victim to cyberbullying/bullying when you have a substantial number of followers but little to no likes. You can easily develop an eating disorder when you feel that you are not getting noticed and maybe it is because you are not beautiful. In May 2019, Instagram began testing post information displays that will hide the number of likes and views that photos and videos receive in an effort to create a "less pressurized" environment. While I have stated social media is a cause to things like depression and eating disorders, taking this crucial aspect of Instagram away would be detrimental to those using social media for business. What is mostly likely causing these anxieties and insecurities is the lack of engagement due to the new updates. These numbers of likes and views help validate an artist’s work and help promote the success of ones work to others thus opening more doors for them (the is particularly important for those in the tattoo industry). People flock to whatever has the most likes and views. Social media has given birth to the term “viral”. Stars like Justin Bieber, Justine Mae Biticon, Alissa Violet, Shawn Mendes, Alessia Cara and so many more have formed careers based on enormous viewing and liking numbers. How will one see what is trending? How will one see where society is progressing? If this is a feature that must be implemented, then I think this feature should to be up to the user and make it a feature that can be turn off or on- much like how comments can be.

As for shadow banning and the use of expensive hashtags, I find it humorous that the site that created the term and usage of hashtags is suggesting users to use less of hashtags and focus on their business objective. Using hashtags is justified as tool to aid one’s business objective or goal. Exposure for one’s business is always a key for success.

My voice is small, but I speak for many. I hope that with this information and my stance on this matter will be kept in mind for future Instagram updates and get others to speak out. Social media was made for instant connection, a place to share what you like with anyone at any time. Instagram should be no different.

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*Feel free to leave your opinions or please correct me if what I said was wrong. Through my research I found many conflicting facts (even if they were comments made from Instagram themselves). I am always interested to learn more.

**As for grammar and such... I'm a design major for a reason.

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