After five years Instagram has announced its plan to bring back the chronological feed in a new and improved way. On Wednesday, Adam Mosseri confirmed Instagram has been working on a current version of the chronological feed for months. This feed will provide users with the “option to see posts from people you follow in chronological order.” Instagram is also experimenting with a “favorites” feed. This feed will show posts from selected friends appearing higher on your feed. The article mentions that both feeds will be optional. Instagram expects to launch the new feed options in the first quarter of next year.

Many people have been advocating for the return of the chronological feed. The chronological feed differs from Instagram’s current model based on algorithms. In a blog post, Mosseri claimed the transition into an algorithm-based feed would expose users to different content on their feed. Their current algorithm-based feed has received endless scrutiny over the years, specifically for its younger users.

As a long-time Instagram user, I prefer the chronological options over the algorithm. The algorithm is very forced and still limits the content on my feed. This new feed must provide Instagram with a return on investment(ROI). Unfortunately, this ROI is based on money.

This is why I respect public media companies over commercial ones. Since Instagram is a commercial media company they are motivated by money. In public media, the companies are mission-based placing their resources into serving their core audience. This means they make decisions based on what their core audience wants not what will make them the most money. It will be interesting to see the public reaction to the chronological timeline as well as the “favorites” feed option.

Sources:

https://www.engadget.com/instagram-will-bring-back-a-chronological-feed-in-2022-211232214.html

https://www.engadget.com/house-bill-justice-against-malicious-algorithms-act-162915185.html