We’ve all been there. You’re casually scrolling through your Instagram feed, and a post catches your eye. You start swiping through the carousel, thinking it’ll be the usual 2-3 photos. Swipe, swipe, swipe… and suddenly you’re fifteen photos deep into a stranger’s “photo dump,” wondering how you got here. Instagram’s expanded photo limit, now allowing up to 20 photos in a single post, has changed the game, and not always for the better. While the intention might be to share more, the reality is that these mega photo dumps can be overwhelming and, dare we say, a little annoying for your followers.
Instagram’s update, launched last year, perfectly coincided with the rise of the “photo dump.” If you’re unfamiliar, think of a digital scrapbook – a collection of loosely related images designed to convey a certain “vibe.” As The New Yorker aptly described them, photo dumps are “chaotic jumbles” that create an “over-all atmosphere” through juxtaposition. These can include anything: selfies (often from unflattering angles), group shots, pictures of food, pets, outfits, landscapes, and basically anything else that contributes to the desired aesthetic. Creating these posts can be fun and feel like a great way to share snippets of your life. But, with the increased photo limit, have we taken the photo dump trend too far?
Alt: Overwhelmed Instagram user scrolling through a lengthy photo carousel on mobile, highlighting the potential fatigue of excessive photo dumps.
The sheer volume of 20-photo dumps flooding feeds is making them lose their charm. What was once a whimsical snapshot of someone’s week or experience is now often an unedited deluge. A 20-photo post doesn’t curate a vibe; it bombards you with one. There’s something to be said for the constraints of the previous 10-photo limit. Having to select your best shots, to be selective and creative within a boundary, actually enhanced the quality of posts. It’s reminiscent of when Twitter (now X) doubled its character count – longer tweets became possible, but concise, witty tweets remained the most impactful. Beyond aesthetics, these lengthy posts simply clog up our feeds. As The New Yorker also pointed out, “I don’t have time to flip through monthly recaps of the lives of everyone I follow at once!”
So, the next time you’re about to upload a 20-photo Instagram carousel, pause and consider the message you’re sending. Is it a curated story, or just an overwhelming data dump? These massive photo collections often come across as uninspired and, frankly, inconsiderate of your followers’ time and attention. While the photo dump trend might have some staying power, it’s worth asking ourselves if maximizing the photo limit truly serves our content, or if it just contributes to the noise. Just because Instagram allows you to post 20 photos doesn’t automatically mean you should.
Alt: Hand thoughtfully choosing photos on a smartphone for Instagram, emphasizing the importance of content curation over quantity in photo dumps.
