By: Nick Gambino
When social media began it was a pretty simple system that allowed you to see and interact with content made by people you followed or were friends with.
Fast forward to today and the algorithm is vastly more complex, throwing random content at you all day long at break-neck speed. Nobody quite understands the algorithm, but we do know it’s supposed to represent what we care about and what we want to see.
The content that appears in our feed is not only from those we follow or like but things that the platform believes we’ll like based on our behavior on said platform.
The problem is, it’s a computer algorithm that doesn’t ask you what you like and what you want to see. It just processes a trillion data points and gleans what it gleans mathematically and pushes out content accordingly. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always translate to users seeing what they truly want to see.
Meta has announced that they are testing a new feature that allows users to refresh or reset the recommended content on Instagram. This means you’ll be able to start all over again, clearing out algorithmic suggestions on the Explore tab, any Reels and of course your main feed. This will also affect the types of ads you see.
“Your recommendations will start to personalize again over time, showing new content based on the content and accounts you interact with,” a Meta blog post says about the test. “When resetting, you’ll also have the option to review the accounts you’re following and unfollow any that share content you no longer want to see.”
An Instagram reset does not reset who you’re following or who’s following you. This is simply an algorithmic reset that gives you a fresh start, allowing you to begin from square one with how Instagram recommends content based on your behavior in the app.
For those lucky enough to test this feature, they’ll be able to enter the new year with a fresh new Instagram that more closely aligns with their interests. The plan is to roll out the reset tool to everyone in the near future.
