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Meta Just Proved People Hate Chronological Feeds (www.wired.com)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Meta conducted an experiment where thousands of users were shown chronological feeds on Facebook and Instagram for three months. Users of the chronological feeds engaged less with the platforms and were more likely to use competitors like YouTube and TikTok. This suggests that users prefer algorithmically ranked feeds that show them more relevant content, even though some argue chronological feeds provide more transparency. While the experiment found that chronological feeds exposed users to more political and untrustworthy content, it did not significantly impact their political views or behaviors. The researchers note that a permanent switch to chronological feeds could produce different results, but this study provides only a glimpse into the issue.

I think this is bullshit. I exclusively scroll Lemmy in new mode. I scroll I see a post I already have seen. Then I leave. That doesn't mean I hate it, I'm just done!

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The fact that they switched to a different algorithmic feed instead of reducing use time indicates that it's a problem that needs legislation to address, since it will not be in any individual company's interest to stop.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I found that back in the old days of Facebook (pre-enshitification, or at least full steam enshitification) I could log in, catch up on what all my distant relatives and friends were up to, leave some comments, maybe post something myself, and log out in around 10-15 minutes max. Then they started "improving" things, and suddenly there was "engaging" content, and it took at least ½ an hour.

I think it makes sense that from Facebook's perspective, a chronological feed is worse.

Having said that, some people post more than others, so I do appreciate using the Hot and Active sorts for Lemmy in addition to Top - Day. It's a feature I miss from Mastodon. There is a headline bot that I like following, to catch the recent headlines, and the weather. Problem is that something like ¼ of my feed can just be the bot, and yesterday's headlines aren't news anymore, I'm more interested in the ongoing discussion. So I do appreciate the non-chronological sorts, when they make things better for me, and not a corporation's bottom line.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

Yep, I basically stopped using Facebook when it changed away from that. It also changed in other ways, in that people would be posting about politics and memes instead of just life updates and holiday pictures.