Soon, the algorithm won’t force you to doomscroll as much on Instagram, but only in the EU

Hey, who remembers Vine? Regardless if that was the first instance of shortform, vertical video content — and if you watched them in the form of compilations on YouTube or not — the fact of the matter is that it kickstarted this revolution.

TikTok took over, Reels became a thing — in some way, shape or form — on all social media platforms and, like it or not, shortform videos are going to remain as a major part of the web moving forward.

And the issue, to most, is that the (all hail the) algorithm is getting too good at showing you the next one, creating an infinite loop of doomscrolling — which is a term that describes infinite, mindless scrolling. This is something that numerous people all over the world are concerned over, as it not only raises screen time for youngsters, but also changes the way our brains work, most often with a detriment. 

So maybe this change that Meta has announced for Instagram reels is a good thing. Europeans will be able to tell soon, as that is where it’s going to be happening, due to the Digital Services Act.



TL;DR: what the title says. Reels are going to be shown in chronological order, which diminishes the impact that the algorithm can have on what you see next.

What’s cooler is that Instagram will let you choose to see Reels only from the people that you actually follow, which — I think — was high time! Remember back when those you subscribed to were the only ones you saw? I remembered and I miss it, honestly.

Oh, and by the way, this will impact Facebook in the same way.

As previously mentioned, this isn’t something that Meta is doing for your mental health. This is happening due to the EU's Digital Services Act, which aims to protect user's rights online. And by the looks of things, this change may make for a much calmer and manageable social media experience.

Will that actually be the case or will Meta come up with something new and crazy to make up for the change? Time will tell.