It was clear when IG made this cutover ~5 years back. It was a fun platform for photographers to share work and make connections with random people throughout the world I'd never know. I even met a few IG friends IRL while traveling oversees.
Slowly with the algorithmic feed and influencers, it became fairly hard to "reach" the people who had organically followed me, or to see the photos of the people I organically followed. Became less of an outlet for my hobby and more of a chore.
Was interesting seeing my "follower" numbers double or triple while my "engagement" numbers went down 90%. Eventually was just family/friends I knew pre-IG, plus random bots.
Seems like the curve of all social media platforms as they monetize & popularize.
Slowly with the algorithmic feed and influencers, it became fairly hard to "reach" the people who had organically followed me, or to see the photos of the people I organically followed. Became less of an outlet for my hobby and more of a chore.
Was interesting seeing my "follower" numbers double or triple while my "engagement" numbers went down 90%. Eventually was just family/friends I knew pre-IG, plus random bots.
Seems like the curve of all social media platforms as they monetize & popularize.