Chris D'Amore Photography [023]
Just Like, Uh, My Opinion, Man
As a creative person looking to immerse myself in art communities over the past decade, Instagram has been invaluable in making and maintaining connections, especially in the early years of the pandemic. In a couple weeks, I’ll be deleting my account for good. As a photographer just looking to share my little photos on the internet, the platform has a completely different structure and purpose than it originally did, but that’s far from my main motivation.
I know, ‘Local Man Makes Grandiose Public Statement About Deleting App’ sounds like an Onion headline, but for anyone running businesses and artistic endeavors that rely on the connections made there, this can be a tough decision. I don’t fault anyone for staying, but I also believe in the collective power of choosing not to be part of the oligopoly that has effectively co-signed the demise of democracy for their own gains. Opting out of a frenetic viral clip app that incentivizes the narcissistic tendencies of our image-obsessed culture and beckons us to churn out a dozen Reels a week to stay visible is just a perk! In the grand scheme, Instagram hasn’t been around that long, especially in its current form, and doing some digging to find other spaces is worth the time and effort as new ones continue to grow.
No platform is perfect. Hell, even this one has had its own issues. In 2023, the Substackers Against Nazis movement called on leadership to remove dangerous far-right propaganda, and their reticence to take action quickly and transparently led to many writers taking their subscriber lists elsewhere. After consistent pressure and publicity, progress was made, but it took a significant effort to push for what should have been an easy decision. In the case of Instagram, we have long since reached a saturation point of enshittification that is chipping away at our collective psyche as well as peoples’ privacy and safety. The analogy of the frog in the boiling pot may be passé at this point, but it’s spot on for those of us that have been entranced by Meta’s endless finger treadmills over the years.
Most people know intuitively that the algorithm is meticulously designed to bogart our attention, feed us garbage, and thrives off emotional manipulation and political polarization. We acknowledge this with a knowing sigh between doomscroll sessions and keep coming back for more. Before the past few years, this seemed mostly innocuous — the cost of using a “free” service. More recently, the environment has shown itself to be an irrevocably corrupted mess. The feed is increasingly overwhelmed with targeted ads and AI slop while the bootlicking CEO continues to demonstrate his knack for propagating Superfund sites of misinformation…
I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s look at some photographs from the past few months!
The more we chip away at our reliance on major platforms that are complicit in the current administration’s wholesale destruction of social programs, safety nets, and basic human rights, the better off we all are. Rebuilding elsewhere should be a consideration for everyone, whether it’s through Bluesky, other social platforms, or just plain old mailing lists. Even if a complete switch isn’t possible at the moment, creating these exit ramps is crucial for preserving our online communities. It’ll just take some work and a bit of time to untangle ourselves from the mess.
Like with Substack in 2023, a precedent needs to be set that when big tech platforms mess up, we’ll have no problem leaving them behind. If you’re calling for people to sell their Teslas, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say we should also do away with digital vehicles of authoritarianism, the engines of which rely on all the little parts (us) staying in place. Many of Big Tech’s technological advancements are the perfect smokescreen for sociopolitical regressions. They provide the illusion of progress while upholding old habits of supremacy and patriarchy. Maybe in the future we won’t be so quick to normalize them.
Anyway, that’s just like, uh, my opinion, man.
Leaving Instagram may not be an option for you right now, and that’s OK. If you can’t extricate yourself, you can still prevent Meta from collecting and monetizing your personal data.
Here’s what I’m doing on my way out:
Downloading my data including posts, stories, follower lists, message history, etc. and rebuilding connections on other platforms. My main one is currently Bluesky, and I’m looking forward to its upcoming image-based companion, Flashes. There is also the Foto app, a new home for photographers that launched publicly this week.
Using the Lists feature on Bluesky to build a list of local artists that people in my community can view as a separate feed to see what others are making and the events they’re organizing.
Donating to Wikipedia, Internet Archive, or independent journalism outlets like 404 Media. They need our help more than ever.
Talking with friends about starting an arts collective focused on grassroots communications and community events. Things like this can be facilitated on Discord or with an encrypted messaging platform like Signal.
Reading up on Surveillance Self-Defense and app alternatives that don’t monetize your personal data
Continually praising Fight For The Future’s Touch Grass newsletter for anyone interested in tech policy
Considering other ways of opting out of Big Tech and alternate ways of existing online
I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this, and if you’re planning to leave too, what alternatives you’re moving towards.
Sounds From the Studio:
Leaving the ‘meta finger treadmill’ is one of several great meta-phores in this article. Some great photos as well.. see you on Bluesky
This was great even for being your opinion. I am finding it hard to keep up with all these apps and be repetitive with them all… It’s easier to just post one thing on one app rather than posting them on different apps and not get any traction. I hate math and algorithms aren’t for me!