It’s clear that the goal of many platforms is to attract the masses but despite knowing this, it wouldn’t be wrong to mention that this realm has transformed into a bizarre beast.
You enter a platform and feel like you’re getting sucked into a stream of material that’s designed to trap people. This includes relentless amounts of shopping ads that you’ve got little to no interest in. It’s safe to say that many including us didn’t have fun.
Let’s take a look at Instagram for instance. You open up that platform and get greeted by ads for bizarre products like bidets. Once you ignore and start scrolling, you’ll see even more alarmingly weird ads about lingerie, shoes, and explicit toys. Most of the sellers are from AliExpress and then you question how you landed up here in the first place.
Soon after that, the misery isn’t over as you’re facing Reels from unknown sources featuring off-target topics. After that, you do see a post or two from your list but then realize that you need to switch off the ‘suggested posts’ feature again which is a must every month. If not, be ready to face the consequences of seeing the most random things getting published on and off.
We won’t lie, we do get distracted more often than not. It could be an adorable cat making cute expressions or a famous chef stirring the pot with another delicious recipe. All in all, we’re in love all over again and forget the misery that brought us here in the first place.
Before we know it, we’re at a popular influencer couple’s page who are trying to make the audience laugh with some of the most bizarre routines. You might even see a woman bombarding herself with makeup but the transformation is so severe that some argue that it’s catfishing and illegal to do this.
We’d like to confirm that this issue isn’t solely on Instagram only but on TikTok as well. The only difference here is that its For You page is more rightly adapted to showing you things that you’ll actually love and not just hate.
Sometimes, procrastination gets you here and all sucked up into something that steals a good few hours when you could have been more productive. Nevertheless, we have to admit that getting caught up in the social media trend isn’t fun anymore.
Some videos aren’t even real and that makes you distrust society even more now than before. There are times we feel we might get trapped while scrolling mindlessly and watching content that we never liked or will like. And it happens so frequently.
It’s no wonder Oxford shared the word for 2024 was brain rot which is the devastating consequence of spending long hours online, watching some stupid things that you shouldn’t be. It’s similar to the word that Australia spoke about called enshittification which explains how apps ruin over time as different firms continue to chase profits.
If we had to sum it up, social media apps were once curated with the idea of promoting connections and friendship. Today, it’s as far away from real human interactions as we are from the moon. Another example is Facebook where you could end up if you’d like to an update from a loved one or people you adore. But even that is now filled with unwanted reels and useless AI slop and low quality click-bait clutter.
Next comes Elon Musk’s controversial X app which fails to hold any of the roots of the old Twitter app. It’s not fun anymore when you’re slammed with politics and propaganda from all directions.
Moving on to Meta's Threads, it’s definitely a better version of X and a hotspot for many who are sick of Musk and his erratic behavior. But it’s causing concern amongst many for uncredited videos and provocative content. There are custom feeds now that feature the chance to explore certain topics but some pages are full of nothing but engagement-bait posts. Another thing that bothers some people is the follow feed for users does not have a default view and no option exists for changing it. Threads, despite its millions of active users, includes few creators or content producers from diverse industries. Similarly, platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, though smaller in user base, give off an "in-crowd" vibe. For many, engaging with these new social networks feels like stepping into a room full of familiar faces where they remain the outsider. Unlike Threads, which may soon introduce ads, neither Bluesky nor Mastodon serves as a thinly veiled shopping platform—at least for now.
To sum it up, social media is not worth it anymore for many who feel we’re reaching that burnout stage of taking in too much. We need someplace that feels more human and inviting, not robotic. Let’s hold a positive mindset for 2025 and hope more change happens but this time, for the good.
Read next: The Future of Social Media: Meta’s AI Personas and the Shift Toward Digital Engagement
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World
