The algorithm is very good at keeping us glued, to propose content that amaze us, intrigue, schifano, anything that pushes to produce dopamine. This is the goal, to achieve it he tries to get to know us by tracing our every move on the platform. Yet it doesn’t always work, on the contrary.
The first time I saw a video by Moo Deng I liked it and I sent it to my friend Erica, passionate about animals. The next day, scrolling another sequence of Moo Deng appeared, indeed two, multiplied, at some point My feed was invaded From clip of the Baby Hippopotamus that rolled in the mud, he ate, slept, ran to slowdowed with the final countdown as the soundtrack. Even now, months later, every now and then he reappears and I shake quickly to the top to make my algorithm understand that despite loveing animals I can’t show it anymore to see video by Moo Deng.
This process works with baby hippos, but also with the influencers who whisper the recipes, the videos of animals with out of dramatic voices, tutorials for inserting daisies in the hair, or motivational videos for wellness routines. It is the algorithm loop that does not understand us. The goal is to guess what we want to see to keep us there, to shake, For as long as possible. However, the result is often a confusing feed contaminated with trend and video that we stop to see absently. However, you can start from scratch.
Instagram released the reset button, A key that deletes your algorithm. It is currently only available for US users, it is not clear when it will be released in Italy. But it could only be a matter of time.
Because now on Instagram you follow Donald Trump and JD Vance: the answer is very simple
Hallucinations of the algorithm
The algorithm is not a magic formula, as the same admitted Adam MosseriCEO of Instagram, “make mistakes“. And in fact” sometimes you could end up in a scheme in which Instagram transforms in an involuntary way In something you really don’t love “. Let’s say that the algorithm is very good at keeping us glued, to propose content that amaze us, intrigue, disgust, anything that pushes a produce dopamine. This is the goal, to achieve it he tries to get to know us tracing our every move on the platform.
Not only likes, shares or comments, the algorithm also analyzes the permanence timecalculating how much we focus to observe a post, or a Reel. At that point it builds a scheme that proposes us Based on calculated preferences. However, this does not mean that he knows our mind. Indeed, ranking in a standard way and with rigid criteria What we like and what we don’t like. The result are often extreme content based on what we have looked more that they close us in a vicious circle from which it is often difficult to go out.
What happens when you press the reset key
Once the reset button is pressed you can’t be back. The recommended contents, the feed, the explorer card They will no longer be customized. The algorithm starts from scratch. “At the beginning it will make your Instagram much less interesting,” Mosseri warned. And maybe it’s okay as well. It could in fact be a First step to detoxify from infinite scrolling. In any case, it would most likely be just a matter of time, before Instagram you find A new formula to keep you glued.
It is not even said that after the reset the algorithm manages to understand Really what you want to see. On the contrary. From a certain point of view, if we want to do cynics it is a nice advantage for the company that can propose to us for a second time thus testing several algorithms on us. Even the data remain, the reset in fact does not delete the information that the company has collected to build targeted advertising plans. The only way would be to delete the account.
