While younger generations are still using Instagram’s archiving tool to curate their profiles, the idea of de-archiving as a way to outsmart the platform’s algorithmic nature is a more recent phenomena.Dado Ruvic/Reuters
On Instagram, a social media platform designed to generate posts’ reach and engagement, some younger users are choosing to post in a way that keeps their content buried. What gives?
Coined “ghost posting,” the trend involves a user posting a photo to their Instagram grid and then immediately archiving it. Archiving saves the content in a private folder that only the account holder can see. At a later date, the post can be unarchived at the user’s discretion, a tactic thought to dissuade the app from pushing the photo into follower feeds.
“When the post is eventually unarchived, it’s considered old news, reducing its chance of getting picked up by the algorithm,” said Matthew Johnson, director of education at MediaSmarts, an Ottawa-based non-profit organization dedicated to digital and social media literacy and research, with a focus on teens and youth.
Driving the ghost-posting trend is the idea that doing so gives the user more control over who sees their content and even eases the pressure to earn high engagement.
“Ghost posting is a way of putting content on your profile that contributes to your online identity and will be only seen by people close to you who intentionally visit your feed,” Mr. Johnson said.
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He explains that in an environment largely controlled by algorithms that decide who sees what and when, and against the backdrop of an unspoken set of Instagram etiquette rules, wresting control over one’s social image is becoming increasingly difficult for youngsters.
According to Mr. Johnson, based on his organization’s focus group research, the norm among youth on Instagram is to accept things that may feel uncomfortable. “It’s considered rude to make a direct request of someone else to remove a photo of you on their profile,” he says. It’s also common practice to accept follower requests from almost any known acquaintances. “It makes maintaining privacy and managing your own online identity really challenging,” Mr. Johnson said.
“For young people, privacy isn’t what you post or don’t post. It’s all about who sees what you post.”
Instagram’s archiving tool isn’t new. It was first introduced in 2017, offering users “more flexibility to shape your profile while still preserving moments that matter,” the social media platform said in an announcement at the time. While younger generations are still using the tool to curate their profiles – by hiding stale posts or resurfacing beachy vacation photos at a specific time, for example – the idea of de-archiving as a way to outsmart the platform’s algorithmic nature is a more recent phenomena.
Online, videos related to ghost posting have been widely viewed, earning thousands of likes and interactions. ”Perfecting that feed,” reads the caption of one video. “Takes away the pressure for real,” wrote another user on a TikTok video, hinting at how the ghost-posting strategy can alleviate the pressure to earn high engagement metrics.
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It may seem counterintuitive for younger users to “hack” an app’s functionality in an effort to minimize reach and engagement when they could simply turn off likes and comments, or stop posting altogether. But Mr. Johnson argues that could have negative consequences for Gen Zs who rely on social media for things like individuation and social connection.
“When everyone in your social circle is using a particular app, it becomes a part of social life, and not using it could be isolating.”
Instead, Mr. Johnson sees ghost posting as a form of resistance. “They’re trying to use the platform in a way that the makers and operators didn’t intend, pushing back against the idea that users should monitor interactions and engagement with their content.” (It should be mentioned that Instagram Plus, a paid version of Instagram that launched earlier this year, now allows users to post directly to their profiles without the pictures appearing in friends’ feeds.)
In the context of dumb phones, social media blockers, a landline resurgence and other digital detox tactics that are growing in popularity, it’s perhaps no surprise that ghost posting is gaining traction.
“I think people should see this as encouraging,” Mr. Johnson said. “It’s important that, as adults, we support and acknowledge that young people care about their privacy and are working to uphold it.”