Theguardian iconTheguardianSep 10, 2026 ~1 min source read

I turned off my algorithm for 24 hours. Is this how social media used to be?

On Tuesday the Australian government announced "world-leading" reforms that would force social media platforms to allow users to opt-out of algorithms, dubbed "my feed, my way". Thanks to a little-known feature in Instagram, I attempt to travel back to 2012, before everything on the internet was an ad Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast I have a confession.

I turned off my algorithm for 24 hours. Is this how social media used to be?

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Thanks to a little-known feature in Instagram, I attempt to travel back to 2012, before everything on the internet was an ad Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast I have a confession.

On Tuesday the Australian government announced "world-leading" reforms that would force social media platforms to allow users to opt-out of algorithms, dubbed "my feed, my way".

It is a perfectly curated window into my insane and inquiring mind.

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The useful part

Thanks to a little-known feature in Instagram, I attempt to travel back to 2012, before everything on the internet was an ad Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast I have a confession. On Tuesday the Australian government announced "world-leading" reforms that would force social media platforms to allow users to opt-out of algorithms, dubbed "my feed, my way". On the same day, I was delighted to be confronted with a video on Instagram of a woman accidentally spilling a bucket of eels on a Chinese train.

How it works

  • Dozens of eels slithered among the passengers, who appeared not as surprised as I would have expected.

Example or evidence

  • It is a perfectly curated window into my insane and inquiring mind.

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