Five years later, the chronological news feed will soon be back on Instagram. Criticized for its toxic effect on the mental health of its users, The social network announced Wednesday, January 5 That it will soon offer three different display options to allow its members to change the order in which content appears on their timelines. The change is already available to some users before it is largely generalized.

Currently, Instagram’s feed is controlled by an automated ranking algorithm that determines which photos are most likely to attract attention and engage users based on various criteria. A system that promotes exclusively viral publications and photos of accounts with which users interact most frequently. The idea is to ensure that users have “no shortage of posts that are of great interest to them,” explained Instagram when the system was set up in 2016.

In the coming weeks, users will be able to choose between three types of news feeds. Other than this current thread, name changed”House“(” Home “) For this occasion, the new version of the social network will allow you to select the thread”next,Membership“) to display all publications from accounts followed by an individual in chronological order, as of 2016. A third option, called “Favoritewill offer publications from accounts selected by the user in chronological order.

Current automatic sorting will always be displayed when opening the app

However, the scope of these changes may be smaller than expected. BFMTV claims to have received confirmation from Instagram that these new options cannot be saved. Only algorithmic sorting can be defined by default. So users will continue to see posts according to the current automatic ranking every time they log in. They have to change the setting manually to see their timeline in a different light. An important limitation calling into question the motives pursued by Instagram through this measure. When asked by RTL, the forum is yet to respond to our queries.

Social media recommendation algorithms have been the subject of a lot of criticism over the years. The platforms are believed to encourage internet users to spend more time on the platforms, accusing them of giving more visibility to divisive or harmful content.

In the case of Instagram, documents unearthed by whistleblower Frances Hogen at the end of the year showed that celebrity posts promoted by Instagram can have a detrimental effect on teenage girls. Based on these revelations, stage leader Adam Mosseri was also auditioned by American elected officials. The changes announced in the recent past are part of this perspective.

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