Comment by hu3

6 days ago

Folks around me use mostly Instagram which ironically is also from Meta.

Zuck is always one step ahead.

And as a sibling comment says, also WhatsApp. The guy is always two steps ahead.

  • There's two separate things at play here.

    One is "I don't want to use Meta products as a matter of principle", and WhatsApp's a no-go if that's your posture.

    The other is "I don't want to drown in horrible, algorithm-curated junk content". Instagram is just as bad as Facebook there, but WhatsApp is definitely not the same.

  • I'm waiting for Whatsapp to go down the toilet too. I notice it is already advising me to beware of misinformation on forwarded posts and only to use official and trusted sources (the government and their mates basically).

I have an IG account that I barely use, whereas my Facebook account I do (regrettably) still spend time on, and have put in the effort to silence/hide the worst of the baity type content that it wants to throw at me.

But interestingly my experience of IG when I do occasionally go on it is similar to what TFA describes: lots of engagement-bait / thirst trap content that I never asked to see but also haven't been around to hide, so I guess the baseline algorithm is just matching me to what others in my demographic bracket have found, um, engaging.

You only ever need a Meta account. The next content format will be brought to your door by Zuck even before you know you need it.