Hello to all the masochists 😂 who follow this site and the posts I publish. Thanks to those who do so regularly and assiduously, and to those who are reading me for the first time. For those who don’t follow me or do not want to follow me… well, never mind, I’ll get over it 😌. Topic of this post is: Social Media Killed Photography
The new year has begun and below I bring you my personal analysis and evaluation regarding social media, and Instagram in particular. Social Media Killed Photography ?
1. The Business Model: Who Pays the Price ?
You use platforms for free, but you are not the real customer. Social media requires huge funding, attracting investors who demand profit. Their business model isn’t based on you, the user, or your art. Instead, they collect your browsing data and habits. They thoroughly catalog this information about you. This data then sells to advertisers seeking targeted advertising. Companies use this data to show you exactly what you might buy. I believe the primary goal of these platforms is now serving advertisers. They no longer exist to champion your artistic content.
2. Photographers: Instagram’s “Trojan Horse”
Platforms like Instagram initially thrived because good photographers joined. Your quality content attracted a vast, engaged audience, giving the platform immense value. When Meta (then Facebook) purchased Instagram, I think they bought more than infrastructure. They effectively bought us, the photographers, and our valuable communities. We, the creative content creators, served as their initial “Trojan Horse.” We built the platform’s initial value and magnetic appeal.
3. Meta’s Betrayal and Our Disappearing Photos
Following the acquisition, the platform dramatically changed its direction. The algorithm started aggressively ignoring organic content from creators like you. It shifted its absolute priority to the paying corporate advertisers. Your ability to get discovered using relevant hashtags completely collapsed. The visibility of your static photo posts became nearly zero. The platform aggressively became video-centric, pushing the popular, short Reels format. This change forced you to distort your work, chasing a format that does not suit your artistic style. For me, this feels like a genuine betrayal of the original creative community.
4. The Algorithm Seeking Strong Emotion
The current algorithm does not reward valuable, high-quality content or fine art. It only chases high-volume interaction, or “engagement.” It clearly favors content that generates intense emotional reactions. Crucially, indignation or outright anger often drives this mechanism. Strong, divisive emotions produce high comment counts and heated discussions. Many content creators now choose this contentious path to monetize more effectively. They aim to make people angry, rather than showing work with a calm, constructive approach.
5. A Strategy for Potential Survival
If you chose to survive within this current, unforgiving environment, your strategy must involve adaptation. You essentially must learn to “trick” the algorithm. You must create engaging videos on topics you know already interest the platform’s audience. For example, you could review camera gear or share exciting travel stories. Crucially, you then need to cleverly insert and show your quality photographs inside these videos. You must first offer the audience what they already want to see. Only then can you show them what you truly want: your unique artistic work.
6. My Definitive Decision
Personally, I decided to stop using Instagram for sharing my photo content. I only now limit its use to private messaging features. I simply cannot identify with a mechanism that rewards indignation over my sincere artistic commitment. Bending my work to fit this algorithmic system is simply not worth the effort. Photography is absolutely not dead. However, I believe it must now find new, independent avenues. It needs to escape the logic of “easy likes” and the restrictive algorithms imposed by Meta.
