How to control Instagram's political content limits

What is an echo chamber?

An echo chamber limits exposure to other perspectives. In this environment, people only hear similar viewpoints, reinforcing their opinions and ideology. This is not limited to the news media -- social media platforms use this tactic as well. Social media echo chambers provide personalized content by monitoring a user's likes, posts, comments, following and activity to determine what content will be most relevant to them.

In a study taken place during the 2020 election, independent researchers sought to answer whether social media was biased. Analyzing 2020 data from all Facebook users in the U.S., researchers found most media consumed by users was tailored to their own interests and opinions.

Pros and cons of echo chambers in social media

Echo chambers are prevalent on social media. While some users may favor echo chambers, others may be against them and some may not be aware of their existence at all.

Some pros of echo chambers in social media include the following:

• Can be used to increase engagement. Businesses and social media influencers can increase account engagement by observing the echo chambers of their targeted audiences and understanding what they are interested in.
• More personalized content. It can be frustrating for users to scroll through content and find nothing they like. Echo chambers minimize this and lead to more favorable user-generated content.
• Helps spread awareness. By connecting like-minded individuals, more awareness can be spread about environmental, political or social issues.

Some cons of echo chambers in social media include the following:

• Can lead to close-mindedness. When constantly subjected to the same views and beliefs, a person can start to ignore and reject ones that oppose it.
• Spreads misinformation and disinformation. Social media puts out what is put into it -- information provided by other people. And this information isn't always accurate. Echo chambers can spread misinformation and disinformation faster by passing it to like-minded people that may see it as true due to their reinforced beliefs.
• Can lead to confirmation bias. Repeated exposure to echo chambers can lead to confirmation bias. Confirmation bias results when -- after repeated exposure to reinforced media -- a person only believes and engages in material that confirms their existing beliefs.
• Groupthink. Groupthink is a psychological term that refers to the irrational and sometimes damaging decisions made by people that feel the need to conform and stick with their group no matter what. This phenomenon can lead to political or social polarization.

How to turn off Instagram's limits on political content

Instagram automatically sets user content preferences to "limit political content from people you don't follow." When this setting is on, Instagram users will not be suggested content that pertains to government, election or social topics. However, the user will still be able to see political content from accounts that they follow when this is selected.

Here is how to change the setting in the Instagram mobile app:

1. Tap on your profile photo in the bottom right corner of the app.
2. Tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner and select settings and privacy or settings and activity -- depending on the version of the app you have.
3. Scroll down to the What you see tab and click content preferences.
4. Select political content.
5. Choose the second option, don't limit political content from people you don't follow.

How to adjust Instagram's political advertisement filter

Instagram also has a number of advertisement topics. Instagram filters these topics by what a user engages with the most. However, Instagram gives users the option to change how often they see certain advertisements. When clicking on a topic, users have two options -- No preference and See less.

Here is how to adjust political advertisements in the Instagram mobile app:

1. Tap on your profile photo in the bottom right corner of the app.
2. Tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner and select settings and privacy.
3. Tap Account Center.
4. Scroll down to the Account Settings tab and tap Ad Preferences.
5. Scroll down to the Ad topics section and click See all.
6. Tap the search bar at the top and a drop-down list will appear. Select Social issues, Elections or Politics.
7. Select either No preference or See less to change the ad preference.

If these steps don't work for you, update your app or visit the Accounts Center from a web browser.

Samantha Poutre is an editorial assistant at TechTarget and a student at Roger Williams University. She studies creative writing at Roger Williams with a minor in global communications. She has served as an editor for two of her university's newspapers and enjoys participating in clubs involving writing and the arts.