how are people finding a friend on instagram in 2026?

if you literally mean finding one person: search their name or handle in the search bar, or settings > follow and invite friends > follow contacts, which matches your phone contacts. you can also search a phone number in the bar. but "the numbers move the wrong way" sounds like you mean growing followers, which is a different question. posting twice a week is fine if the two posts are made for the people you want, not for whoever's already there. what's the account for?