Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, pointed out during a press conference in Australia that the user experience worsens for those who turn off the recommendation system. According to Mosseri, when users switch to a chronological feed, content from companies, brands, and publishers becomes excessive, resulting in users missing more content; he stated that this leads to a decrease in time spent on the platform and engagement by up to 50%.

These remarks were made against the backdrop of a proposed Australian bill considering the introduction of mechanisms that would encourage platforms to allow the disabling of recommendation features. Mosseri is not arguing that chronological feeds inherently ruin the user experience, but is focusing specifically on the outcome of decreased engagement and dwell time.

Meanwhile, the European Digital Services Act (DSA) mandates the provision of feed options that are not based on profiling, but their usage rate remains limited. The engagement drop figures presented by Mosseri suggest that the reason users do not utilize these features may stem from the complexity of the settings rather than a simple lack of interest.

Source: