One of the earliest concepts in software that I learned when getting into the industry was "decoupling".
It's the idea that basically says, in software development, it's better to build many smaller pieces, that have their own limited functions and usecases, and to combine them to create a bigger project, rather than having a single behemoth program handling everything. This makes for easier reusability of the parts in other projects, and easier maintenance, since debugging/fixing individual pieces is easier than having to understand the whole machine. And importantly, these factors allow for the pieces to be used, and trusted for use, for a long time.
What strikes me as ironic is that software engineers who have learned this concept, most probably in college where they majored in Computer Science, go on to work for companies like Meta, and contribute to social media platforms that are anything but decoupled.
Sure, the code itself must be decoupled; the front- and back-end servers are split so communication exclusively occurs via APIs, which must again have their own specific and limited use cases. I get that.
But it does signify a lack of self awareness to only utilize a powerful concept for the inner workings of the product, and not the product itself.
If you take Instagram, it started off as a straightforward social media platform: you follow people you want to hear from, and you get their updates, or talk to them directly. Now Instagram's just a content machine. My top page doesn't even show me people that I follow. I open the god forsaken For You page and it's the same thing, except it's exponentially overwhelming. The app quite obviously does not care for I find familiar, or that I even want that. [1]
It's a personally important point for me so I'll say it again: Instagram does not care to show you the people - i.e. friends and family - that you follow. [2] The algorithm doesn't distinguish between your high school friend and Tung Tung Sahur or whatever the next brainrot meme is; that's clearly not a priority.
Of course, I understand that it's because they are financially dependent on keeping you on their platform longer. And the main tactic is - and always will be - novelty, not familiarity. [3]
What is specifically insidious is that this was a change so gradual, I didn't question it until it was right in front of my face. Before I knew it, watching Reels and zoning out was a bad habit that I had somehow happened to get myself into.
But I couldn't get myself to uninstall the app, or just quit, solely because my friends are there, and if they message me, I have to be there to answer them. And I believe this is why most people are still using the app as well.
In fact, I believe this is why Instagram still keeps this feature to begin with. It's no longer an app that helps you stay connected with others while you enjoy content; it's a hellhole that tethers you by threatening the loss of those connections.
The result is this hodge-podge platform that has no other objective but to bounce you off walls of enticements and obligations, hoping you get stuck on at least one of them.
This website started, in part, from experimenting how decoupling social media would look like for me.
It would mean breaking up the main features that I used social media for:
and finding viable alternatives.
For communication, I already use messaging apps which are used solely for that purpose.
For content, there are a ton of options that are less of a headache to use than Instagram.
Sharing was the one aspect that I didn't have a clear alternative for.
Obviously, posting on a centralized platform with authentication/authorization features would be a nice security blanket to allow for sharing personal information. But as I've touched on a bit in the About page, even that doesn't feel incredibly safe.
A personal website, while I wouldn't have the same authorization wall, would allow me to have full control over what I do and don't share.
This is a very new endeavor for me. And since nobody around me is doing anything similar either, I'm mostly winging it, seeing what feels right and what doesn't.
I've never been a person to post much on Social Media to begin with, so I'm not entirely sure how much I'll even update. But it is starting to become an interesting experiment to see just how much more frequently I do post, which could be indicative of how I was unconsciously discouraged from posting on traditional platforms. [5]
But for now, I just knew I wanted to be able to share without getting my attention vacuumed.
To be clear, I'm not saying that there is an issue with Instagram is currently this way. What I have an issue with is that Instagram used to be a social media platform, and is currently this way. For example, TikTok is similar to Instagram. I don't use TikTok. It's a content platform, and if I don't like a platform and the content there, I just won't use it.
I know you can set "Close Friends" and get a separate feed for that, but I don't get why users are the ones who have to specify this...
I am really bad when it comes to controlling myself with short form content. There were times when I would be on my phone for two hours straight scrolling Reels. I wish I were joking.
Which, by the way, barely constitutes as being "a part of" social media to me.
I already do feel a lot more, relaxed and lighthearted, about what I post. I think the lack of reactions and comments makes it easier for me to just post what I want, without worrying about the reception of it. If no one cares about what I post, then that's fine because I wouldn't know, and if someone does care, they would care enough to reach out to me about something I wrote and that would be special as well. Or maybe they reach out saying they are angered or disagree vehemently. Which I hope doesn't happen.