Instagram mute content types

We’re long past the days of Instagram being a place to share photos with our close friends and stay in touch. Those were fun, wholesome times, but the platform has grown into something much more complicated that seems to serve ads for every 4 or 5 posts you scroll through.

Some people go through phases on social media where they make a specific hobby a large part of their online personality. I guess for me, that’s the unhinged UI work that I do, though I view that as more of a marketing/content thing rather than a reflection of my interests. I’ve seen people go through gym phases, political phases, DJ phases, and also generally unhinged phases. There’s also a whole world of mom bloggers who constantly post everything about their life and family. There seems to be a lot of demand for this type of content.

Sometimes, you want a break from a certain type of content, be it wedding photos, pictures of newborns, gym selfies, or something else.

What if Instagram made it possible to mute content by topic? This feels close to some of the existing preference settings, though it’s a bit more personal. If I’m muting gym selfies, it’s likely because someone I follow is posting them a lot, not because it’s something in my discover feed (though they might be there too).

Generally, I like the idea of being able to tailor what you see in your feed, but a social app allowing you to block key life milestones might not be the right way to implement content controls for an end user.

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