This year, in addition to placing a larger focus on video content, Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram have been serving their users more recommended content (similar to how TikTok enables discovery through the For You page).
According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s focus on its algorithmically recommended content is only set to increase.
“Right now, about 15% of content in a person’s Facebook feed and a little more than that of their Instagram feed is recommended by our AI from people, groups, or accounts that you don’t follow. We expect these numbers to more than double by the end of next year,” Zuckerberg said on an earning’s call today.
It was just last week that Zuckerberg had officially announced that Facebook’s main feed would no longer be a place to connect with friends and family. He announced Facebook would be launching a tab called “Feeds” where users can check in on friends and family. What this means for the main feed is that users will now be presented with more recommended content, often Reels and Stories, selected by the algorithm.
Not everyone is happy with the changes happening to both Facebook and Instagram. In recent days, many Instagram users have been vocal that they don’t like how Instagram is becoming less of a photo-sharing app and shifting towards a recommendation-based video platform like TikTok.
Currently, there is a petition going around called Make Instagram Instagram Again. A-list celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian have promoted it to their networks, prompting an explanation from Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri.
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While Mosseri often hears people say they want to see more friend content in their Feed, he notes “all the growth in photos and videos from friends has been in stories and in DMs.”
Learn more about how people have been reacting to Instagram’s recent updates:
