Have you ever seen a huge list of comments on a social media post and thought “A summary would be nice”? For example, consider this post on Instagram by The Rock https://www.instagram.com/p/BmHGYvvl0wD/ He is taking a picture with a Beluga Whale. It used have 31K comments, but now there are none.

I tried to download the comments text and see if I can summarize with tools. In 2019, I tried downloading the comments. The official Instagram API had daily limits on the number of items downloaded. Instead, one can hire someone to scrape an Instagram URL and get the comments in bulk. Here is are the comments.

Below are the most repeated phrases (at least 10). I also filtered out any repeats that are purely punctuation or parts of URLs.

Count	Phrase
19078	.
10999	@
10136	!
6972	the
5521	you
5446	to
5171	,
5040	an
4762	a
4600	in
3498	I
3295	is
3034	of
3033	?
2806	this
2669	are
2479	that
2294	for
2179	#
2110	be
2016	animals
1989	not
1969	therock
1774	so
1762	it
1596	your
1441	they
1343	with
1296	captivity
1290	like
1251	animal
1187	have
1134	do
1129	them
1108	on
1073	these
976     my
950     beautiful
950     but
885	You
86      love
5506	..
4425	! !
1920	@ therock
1278	. @
1132	in the
1050	! @3900  / 7800000000
797	in captivity
695	. I
681	? ?
582	to be
574	the wild
564	in a
432	of the
409	should be
398	captivity.
397	to see
392	This is
385	. You
382	they are
380	the rock
369	I love
367	this is
351	you are
331	these animals
318	. They
305	be in
291	, and
290	the ocean
283	# emptythetanks
273	this.
266	to the
265	, but
265	. Please
264	animals in
262	. This
249	belong in
248	! I
244	you.
241	. So
414	in the wild
259	in captivity.
237	.. @
216	in the ocean
194	@ therock @
179	. @ therock
172	! @ therock
154	the wild.
149	animals in captivity
140	. This is
122	be in the
118	belong in the
104	should be free
104	should not be
101	I love you
94	. They are
94	Shame on you
92	should be in
91	in a tank
88	@ therock.
83	@ therock I
83	in an aquarium
80	to be free
78	to see you
77	! ! #
77	# emptythetanks #
75	these animals are
75	to be in
71	@ therock you
70	you @ therock
67	. You are
66	? @ therock
66	their natural habitat
65	. # emptythetanks
65	. If you
53	be in the wild
46	animals in captivity.
45	in the wild,
43	. Shame on you
41	belong in the ocean
41	captivity...
41	them in the wild
40	in the ocean.
39	be in the ocean
39	in their natural habitat
36	@ therock..
35	... and
35	this...
34	... but
34	this ! ! !
33	They belong in the
33	for our entertainment.
32	... you
32	in the ocean,
32	in the wild and
31	cool ! ! !
31	in captivity..
30	animals belong in the
29	? ? ? @
28	... So
28	should not be in
27	! ! ! You
27	... so
539	! ! ! ! !
525	.....
89	? ? ? ? ?
87	! ! ! ! @
70	.... @
40	! ! ! @ therock
34	should be in the wild
25	see them in the wild
24	should be in the ocean
23	. They belong in the
23	belong in the wild.
22	@ therock...
22	in captivity...
19	should be free in the
18	animals belong in the wild
17	They belong in the wild
17	the wild...
16	in the wild..
15	be in the wild.
15	in their natural habitat.
15	them in the wild.
14	Shame on you @ therock
14	in the ocean, not
14	in the wild not in
13	... @ therock
13	. Shame on you.
13	@ therock ! ! !
13	They belong in the ocean
13	be free in the ocean
13	beautiful animal with staggering intelligence
13	do not belong in captivity
14	@ i. am. meha
13	! ! ! ! @ therock
13	. They belong in the wild
13	in the wild...
11	should be free in the ocean
10	should be in the wild.
10	Free your pets ( slaves ),

A list with 182 patterns can be condensed more. I found patterns in the patterns.

Count	Phrase
90	.
54	in
42	the
36	!
25	@
20	be
17	therock
13	you
12	?
10	captivity
10	should
8	animals

After studying the patterns in the comments, I would says that comments can be summarized as mostly about this question: What should we do and The Rock do about animals in captivity and in the wild?

Where are the animals in the wild? Many people think there is plenty of wild habitat in the world for all the wild animals. That is a common mistake. The ocean is vast and can provide habitat for the animals there, provided it is not polluted. But the land is different. The space still available for wild animals on the land is much more limited than the ocean. There are 80K Bulaga Whales in the wild. We need to preserve their natural habitats. There are only 3,900 tigers in the wild. We need to reserve more of the land for Tigers. The human population is crowding out other forms of life. There are 7.8 billion people. That’s 1 tiger for every 2 million people.