Why Pods are Poisoning Instagram

I've been asked to join them and I've watched bloggers I respect become a part of them, but I just can't do it to myself purely for my own self respect, I want my following to be genuine not fake.

A definition of a pod from Mashable : "Members of the group follow each other, and constantly like and comment on one another's posts to keep pod members' posts showing up in other people's timelines." (They keep informed of each others new posts by a private message thread on Instagram and the pod can range from 2 - 30 people)

I've hated them ever since I first heard about them, and here's why.

• If you really want to earn money working with brands, then pods aren't the way to go about it. I can't imagine the members of your pod are going to click on your affiliate code every time you post a picture, true followers will. You are not going to give that brand the ROI that they are really looking for.
• The minute the pods stop, the minute we all enjoy the algorithm and see the content that you actually want to see. If you are part of a pod do you ever wonder why you keep seeing the same persons posts all the time? Or why you never see the posts that you used to actually enjoy/engage with GENUINELY?
• The engagement you get from using a pod is fake. You are not receiving organic engagement, you are twisting the system to make it LOOK like you have a genuine following.
• Instagram rewards people who upload great content, that their followers love - people in pods are getting rewarded for scamming the system. You are the athletes that are involved in doping - you just haven't been drug tested yet.
• When Instagram catches up on the pod epidemic, there will be a punishment. We have seen how brutal Instagram is to those they think aren't authentic. See - 'shadow ban' and also the culling they did of those with fake followers a few years back, people lost thousands. They will look for you, they will find you and they will delete your account. (Maybe not that far but you get the point).
• When did Instagram become about the likes and not the images? I want people to appreciate the photos I take, I don't want fake likes or forced comments to inflate my ego.
• Oh and by the way - Instagram’s Platform Policy states that users can’t “participate in any ‘like,’ ‘share,’ ‘comment,’ or ‘follower’ exchange programs." Sound familiar?

What are your thoughts on Instagram Pods?