I only use insta in the browser on my phone, which is quite a nice watered down experience that doesn't show ads (even without an ad blocker) or annoying account suggestions.

IG is a gateway drug

You want a real hot take based off a throwaway comment?

It kinda is for steroids. (Hold on, don’t downvote me yet, I’m going somewhere.)

I am a 30-something gay male. Here’s my Recommendations view:

https://imgur.com/a/1Paravn

Hot dudes, dogs, and one computer setup that’s either based off my search for standing desks or mechanical keyboards.

Instagram is a body dysmorphia engine. If you are in a certain demographic, it is so easy to drink from a constant firehose of thirst traps of men with very suspiciously large traps. You get that every time you open Instagram? It does start to warp your brain, and make you consider trying pharmaceutical interventions.

Conflict of interest: I am absolutely one of those monsters posting thirst traps: https://imgur.com/a/2JGOYwL

> Instagram is a body dysmorphia engine.

100%

Very interesting. Almost like it wants to flatten society, all gays are all the same. To me I hope this doesn’t keep people from being unique or growing in the future

To?

Tiktok

i've never seen those ads before. aren't instagram ads tailored based on your browsing history? if anything, those ads may just be indicative of your recent interests.

What could I possibly have posted that would trigger these ads?

Oh.

https://imgur.com/a/CXvySpa

(Like I said. They know their audience.)

Wow, you've posted pics of yourself twice. Take that attention-seeking shit back to IG.

Yeah, they’re tailored. I get ads for perf dev tools, compilers. I still get ads for vehicles months after buying one.

I’ve only had one ad that was “eerie.” Coworkers were talking about a kind of beverage I’d never heard of (talking over zoom, on a work-only machine), got an ad for the product later that day. Could be that I just recognized the name from our convo which caused me to scroll back up...

I finally figured out the spookiness after talking to my mom on the phone about vacuum cleaners and then getting ads for vacuum cleaners:

My mom bought a vacuum online after our phone call, and one way advertisers choose an audience is “all the friends of someone who searched for the product”

My roommate and I confirmed this by getting ads for something the other just googled.

What I’m trying to say is, targeted ads ruin Christmas, but no one will hear me out :’(

The entirety of HN is now following chicagoresearchcentercrc and furiously liking every one of its posts.

What?

Free (es)ketamine!