The Last Days Of Social Media: Social media promised connection, but it has delivered exhaustion.
The Last Days Of Social Media: Social media promised connection, but it has delivered exhaustion.
The Last Days Of Social Media | NOEMA
At first glance, the feed looks familiar, a seamless carousel of “For You” updates gliding beneath your thumb. But déjà‑vu sets in as 10 posts from 10 different accounts carry the same stock portrait and the same breathless promise — “click here for free pics” or “here is the one productivity hack you need in 2025.” Swipe again and three near‑identical replies appear, each from a pout‑filtered avatar directing you to “free pics.” Between them sits an ad for a cash‑back crypto card.
Scroll further and recycled TikTok clips with “original audio” bleed into Reels on Facebook and Instagram; AI‑stitched football highlights showcase players’ limbs bending like marionettes. Refresh once more, and the woman who enjoys your snaps of sushi rolls has seemingly spawned five clones.
Whatever remains of genuine, human content is increasingly sidelined by algorithmic prioritization, receiving fewer interactions than the engineered content and AI slop optimized solely for clicks.
These are the last days of social media as we know it.
generally speaking, it's not content people are after, it's the act of consumption. if the only thing available is pointless/wrong/AI generated dreck, then that's what they'll consume. before internet it was "channel surfing": flipping through the same handful of available channels for hours on end "looking for something to watch," when in fact it was all garbage. what else is one to do? get off their ass and go do something? LOL
it'll be the exact same story with whatever comes along and replaces social media as it exists today