I pasted two screenshots from my Instagram account above. On the left, you'll see my toolbar/menu, not because it's that exciting, but because I usually ignore it completely. On the right, you'll see some of my saved folders. That's what I love about Instagram. It doesn't have as much to do with what I can see if I look, but about what finds me when I don't search.
Given that any time we're not paying for a product, the product being sold is our attention, I love what Instagram does with my viewership. The algorithm that's trying to sell me products does an excellent job of making sure I'm watching videos I want to see. I pause on, "like", and save lots of videos of people cooking food, knitting/crocheting items, and telling "mom" jokes. All three of these types of videos that then populate my feed serve needs that I have.
During the summer, when Bissell Dining Hall isn't available to me, I cook recipes that I find on Instagram. I have tons of folders of saved recipes, most of which come out great. While I like using a cookbook as much as (probably more than) the next person, I also love the ease of sorting through videos in my folders and whipping up those items to eat each day.
I have a ton of knitting pattern books, most of them with one pattern I like and twenty others I'd never make. By saving patterns/photos on Instagram, I can avoid buying a whole book for a single pattern.
Finally, I'm a big fan of "mom" jokes. In fact, one of my daughters and I (hi, EKO!) try to send jokes back and forth daily. Following Instagram accounts that specialize in silly humor keeps me in jokes aplenty.
Are there other, more productive things I could be doing with my time rather than watching these three categories of videos on Instagram? Sure. But is Instagram enriching my life with its knows-Carita algorithm? Also yes.
What do you think about Instagram? What videos go to your feed to make you feel seen (or stalked, depending on how you feel about it)? Share any responses in the comments.