Instagram lets you choose topics you want to see more of
Instagram wants to know what topics you are interested in. It sounds crazy, because the algorithm already knows what you like to see, but Instagram wants to give you more power over which topics you see or don’t see on the social media.
Topics on Instagram
Instagram is very clear about it. It comes up with a prompt that says, “Lately, you’ve been looking at a lot of posts featuring luxury brands, such as Fashion Week, Bad Bunny, stand-up comedy, and concerts. What would you like to see more of?” You will then see all kinds of options. The aforementioned topics, for example, Japan, Vintage Fashion, Cast interviews, Vintage Role, and Arsenal FC seem to be based on what similar people like.
You can also indicate what you want to see less of. It is striking that no examples of topics are given there, you can add something yourself. Very positive in itself. When I talk to my friends about their babies and look for and buy baby gifts online, it doesn’t necessarily mean I want to see them on Instagram. Sometimes that creeps in, so it’s nice to be able to indicate that I don’t necessarily have to see mother content.
In addition, it is good to provide particular topics you want to see. For example, bad Bunny is a lot more specific than a Latino artist, but Vintage Japanese clothing is also quite specific. It will be fun to experiment with what is possible there. For example, I look at fluffy cows every day, would Instagram also provide an option for that?
Test on Instagram
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri say about the new feature: “Today we’re starting to test a way for you to tailor Instagram’s algorithm to your interests by adding or removing topics. We’re launching this feature first for Reels, with plans to expand it to Discover (Explore) soon.” He also indicates that it may also come to Threads.
Meta would add this to give people more control over their Instagram experience. That is also the purpose of the court ruling to make the timeline chronological again if people want that, but unfortunately, it has requested a postponement for that. In any case, the new ability to select topics is being tested, so when we can test whether we can see specifically fluffy cows more in our timeline, that will probably have to wait a while.