Meta is bragging about how its AI keeps people on Instagram, while facing lawsuits over addiction

[DragonSlayer101]

Ripple effect: Social media addiction has been a subject of public debate for years, but time spent on apps like TikTok and Instagram keeps climbing. Meta has now confirmed it's using AI to personalize the Instagram feed, and that shift is driving a sharp increase in the amount of time users spend on the platform.

During its Q2 2026 earnings call, Meta said its latest Reels ranking update, the largest one to date, drove a 15-basis-point increase in Instagram sessions. The number of "reshares" has also increased significantly, suggesting the app is doing a better job of surfacing content users actually want to see.

Speaking to investors and analysts, CFO Susan Li explained that the algorithm is specifically designed to track the type of videos people watch on Instagram and recommend similar content, keeping people hooked to the app. According to Li, the algorithm now offers more personalized content than ever, giving users more direct control over what they see.

Li added that the AI algorithm now allows Instagram to recommend newer content to users, with its largest models identifying high-quality Reels the moment they're created. She noted that more than 50% of the recommended content in users' feeds is now less than a day old, more than double what it was a year ago.

During the quarter, Meta also deployed its "Muse" family of LLMs to better classify content by topic and tone. Li said the company has already benefited from the new models across all its platforms and is now developing next-generation recommendation algorithms designed to power both organic content and targeted advertising.

But even as Meta touts the effectiveness of its AI algorithms in keeping users engaged, the company is facing multiple lawsuits alleging that it deliberately designs its recommendations to make its platforms addictive to teens and young adults, harming their mental health and contributing to a marked increase in anxiety, depression, and social isolation among its most loyal users.

Meta was sued by 40 US states for allegedly breaking their consumer protection laws and fueling a youth mental health crisis by encouraging teens to spend excessive time on its platforms. The lawsuits allege that, in pursuit of greater profits, Meta ignored internal studies indicating Instagram could harm teenagers' mental health.

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Meta is bragging about how its AI keeps people on Instagram, while facing lawsuits over addiction

 

[PierreJG]

Thank God I am not one of the people. Yes, I use social media. I actually opened my Instagram last week but it is to showcase my website designs and computer builds. I am not even on Instagram for more than 5 min every 2-3 days.

The lawsuit is valid. The problem with AI is, is that it dumb people down. I was looking for a certain type of ddr3 laptop memory. The *technician* said you only get 1 type of ddr3 laptop memory... He even got aggressive. If they limited AI then yes, it can be productive for kids. I am using the paid version of Claude for my work. You have a limit. I did the same test with ChatGPT and Gemini with a free account, and I did not reach a limit yet. I have a lot of problems with AI, but the main problem is that there is no control over it and people lose their jobs because of AI.

 

[psycros]

I automatically assume that anything that cuts the corners off of pictures is stupid and horrible. Social media is at the top of the list.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Sue their deadbeat parents.

 

[Karlos95]

I can't wait for digital ID to be implemented on every social media platform. My addiction will be cured because of government overreach.
And will probably wake more people up that the gov is run by satanic pedos who want to control you all like sheep.
Just moved to linux because microsoft wants your account details for everything. Can't even play the new Halo without a m$ account, even split-screening as a guest!

 

[p51d007]

The only time I've been on Tik-Tok or instagram is if there is a link in a story that is posted to those.
Same as Bluesky, Twitter etc.
Glad I grew up in the time before "doom scrolling".
I've even read that the attention span of most of the younger types has DROPPED to the point they
are even shortening videos so they won't click away from them.
Attention span lowered, AI answering questions instead of kids thinking for themselves, lack of problem solving skills...it's just getting worse which is why I support BANNING smartphones until kids are at
least 15-16.
If parents really need access 24/7 to their kids, get them a dumb phone. No texting, no internet, just a plain Jane phone. Only has 911, parents and a couple others programmed into it and will only accept
calls from the programmed numbers. Sounds rough, but kids need to get outside and EXPLORE, do things, discover things to do other than doom scrolling.

 

[scoffer]

Can't even play the new Halo without a m$ account, even split-screening as a guest!

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

 

[scoffer]

One of the main reasons that a scumbag like Suckercock loves his AI to bits! The future of AI will forever be tainted by evil people like him, whose only aim in life is the massive accumulation of wealth. Surely even our resident AI aficionados won't seek to glorify this kind of use for AI...but then again...

 

[Nobina]

Ofcourse social media platform wants people to use it all the time. It is in their interest to get people addicted to it while saying how they're doing the opposite.

 

[OortCloud]

Human horror-show Mark Zuckerberg doing what human horror-shows do best.

 

[tschmidt69]

The only time I've been on Tik-Tok or instagram is if there is a link in a story that is posted to those.
Same as Bluesky, Twitter etc.
Glad I grew up in the time before "doom scrolling".
I've even read that the attention span of most of the younger types has DROPPED to the point they
are even shortening videos so they won't click away from them.
Attention span lowered, AI answering questions instead of kids thinking for themselves, lack of problem solving skills...it's just getting worse which is why I support BANNING smartphones until kids are at
least 15-16.
If parents really need access 24/7 to their kids, get them a dumb phone. No texting, no internet, just a plain Jane phone. Only has 911, parents and a couple others programmed into it and will only accept
calls from the programmed numbers. Sounds rough, but kids need to get outside and EXPLORE, do things, discover things to do other than doom scrolling.

You are 100% right! I am glad my kids are all in the 30s now as well.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Delete

 

[Endymio]

The lawsuit is valid.

The lawsuit is absurd. If you make a product people like to use, they'll use it. Half of Europe is addicted to watching soccer/football, and FIFA does everything possible to ensure its fans watch ever more avidly, and we all know people who can't survive ten minutes a day without consuming the products of the pop music industry. Should we sue FIFA and the RIAA for promoting addictive behavior? How about those who run lingerie ads for promoting sexual addiction? Video-game studies for promoting that particularly heinous addiction?

Most people have a need for social contact, and social media fills that need. Should Meta attempt to design a product no one wants to use?

 

[Axeia]

So Meta had to take to AI to achieve what TikTok managed to do without it.

They should probably ask AI if it can boil down what it's doing down to a regular algorithm like TikTok already had, might save them some more orders from NVIDIA.

 

[lonetac]

Instagram is nothing but ads. If I do see someone I know who posted there, its usually a month after they posted. The algo there in my experience is so bad that the app is unusable. Wouldnt even try to use it for enjoyment.

 

[barca1au]

I reluctantly use Insta and Fb because I run a page for a group, and had the dubious distinction of suddenly being kicked off Insta. I needed to produce my ID to get back on. However my ID has imprints that are only visible when you use a light source, like a camera or a scanner, so it was knocked back because the picture was not clear - which is the whole idea really. 4 weeks later I get an email saying it was all a mistake and they apologise, so I am back on Insta, but not on Fb. And there was I thinking they were connected?

 

[jdrch]

IG easily has the most addictive algorithm in existence. Plus the app "glitches" on purpose to show your home feed before loading links. No other service feeds me exactly the content I enjoy as accurately and regularly as IG. Plus you can literally tell it exactly what you want to see and it will surface that for you. Don't even get me started on the Search feature whose default content is so hyperaccurate it makes it difficult to search for anything.

 

[DontMakeThemEasy]

I hope my algorithm will stay unaffected, if people want less addiction - fair enough. But I want my feed tailored to me.

 

[Endymio]

So Meta had to take to AI to achieve what TikTok managed to do without it.

Err, TikTok has been using AI-based algorithms for several years now. Did you not know this?

 

[Axeia]

Err, TikTok has been using AI-based algorithms for several years now. Did you not know this?

I'm sure you're aware that TikTok has been eating Instagrams and others cake since well before AI as we currently know it was introduced.
Their highly addictive algorithm was in the news plenty after all, it's why you in the US wanted control of it in US hands (and now have, to dismay of some users).

 

[Endymio]

I'm sure you're aware that TikTok has been eating Instagrams and others cake since well before AI as we currently know it was introduced. Their highly addictive algorithm was in the news plenty after all

Ignorance is bliss for some. Tiktok was founded on the use of predictive AI algorithms, and incorporated them from day one:

https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship/tiktok-strategy-using-ai-platforms-take-over-world

...it's why you in the US wanted control of it in US hands (and now have, to dismay of some users).

No, we don't want our data flowing to a genocidal dictatorship that keeps three million of its own citizens in slave-labor camps.

 

[Axeia]

Ignorance is bliss for some. Tiktok was founded on the use of predictive AI algorithms, and incorporated them from day one:

https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship/tiktok-strategy-using-ai-platforms-take-over-world

I stand corrected.

Although Meta/Instagram is hinting at putting all of those GPUs to use which what I was trying to get at.
(I've become one of those people that started adopting AI as as synonym for LLM, sigh).

Now do I wonder with (from the article)

Meta has now confirmed it's using AI to personalize the Instagram feed, and that shift is driving a sharp increase in the amount of time users spend on the platform.​

​

Means that they didn't do it the 'classic' AI way before at all? Which would be odd, I don't use Instagram myself (so I've no idea what goes on there) but YouTube has to a lesser degree and even earlier than TikTok used what could be considered AI for content suggestions - has Instagram been the odd one out?

 

[Endymio]

I stand corrected.

Although Meta/Instagram is hinting at putting all of those GPUs to use which what I was trying to get at.
(I've become one of those people that started adopting AI as as synonym for LLM, sigh).

Well, you quickly corrected yourself when faced with facts, which puts you head and shoulders above most posters here. Kudos for that.

Predictive AI has a much lengthier history than generative AI, but it didn't explode into the mainstream until around 2014-2016. By that time, Facebook and Instagram already had their algorithms and believed them to be some sort of gold standard. They simply missed the boat, is all.

 

[jdrch]

I hope my algorithm will stay unaffected, if people want less addiction - fair enough. But I want my feed tailored to me.

Rest assured Meta will NEVER allow your feed to be affected ... We're now 5 years beyond Frances Haugen's Facebook whistleblower exposure and the biggest consequence for the company was a self-inflicted rebranding. Ditto the Equifax hack resulting from wanton gross professional negligence that similarly went unpunished. We're in a post-accountability era.

So yeah your - and my - feed will be just fine.

 

[Endymio]

We're now 5 years beyond Frances Haugen's Facebook whistleblower exposure ...

You mean the revelation that Facebook provides users with what they most want to see? Shocking, I agree.

If children are consuming too much of any product -- be it social media or soda pop -- it's the job of parents to address that. Not private industry.