Creators, Algorithms, and Visibility: A Content Analysis of Instagram’s Explore Page

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-622-2_11How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Instagram; Algorithmic Visibility; Creator Tactics

Abstract

Digital platforms increasingly amplify emotionally arousing content, creating visibility structures that favour sexually suggestive or provocative posts. Drawing on Herman and Chomsky’s “Manufacturing Consent”, this study treats recommendation systems and engagement metrics as contemporary filters that privilege attention-optimized content beyond user preference. Using Actor-Network Theory, it frames “digital provocation” as emerging through interactions among influencers, audiences, algorithms, hashtags, smartphones, and policy documents, with agency distributed across the sociotechnical network. The study has two key objectives: first, to investigate how Instagram’s algorithm enhances the visibility of sexually suggestive or obscene content and second, to examine the borderline content strategies creators use to maximize engagement. Methodologically, a mixed quantitative–qualitative content analysis of 150 Instagram Explore page posts was conducted using neutral, mildly sexual, and explicit keywords. While limited by keyword selection, algorithmic opacity, and coder interpretation, the study contributes to debates on algorithmic accountability, digital morality, and platform governance.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Shambhavi Shambhavi
AU  - Anurag Dave
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
TI  - Creators, Algorithms, and Visibility: A Content Analysis of Instagram’s Explore Page
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Communication, Digital Ecosystem, and Society (ICODES 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 154
EP  - 172
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-622-2_11
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-622-2_11
ID  - Shambhavi2026
ER  -