Casinos do not pay out on every pull because unpredictable rewards are far more addictive than reliable ones — the uncertainty is the mechanism, not a bug. Instagram's algorithm works the same way: I posted the same reel twice on two different accounts, same content, same time of day, and one got 340 views while the other got 41,000, which means the outcome was noise, not signal, and every time I opened the app to check I was pulling a lever. The problem with that for mental health is not the lows — it is the highs, because a random 41,000-view day does not teach you anything useful, it just makes you come back and pull again, and I decided I did not want to spend my attention that way.
I Quit Posting on Instagram for My Mental Health
The algorithm is a slot machine. Random rewards are more addictive than consistent ones — that's not a metaphor, it's behavioural science, and I was hooked.
Decide before you post what success looks like in terms you control — did you say something true, useful, well-crafted? — and ignore the view count entirely.
Post on X
