As a daily abuser of social media, it’s difficult not to notice its rapid decline. You can blame Twitter chaos and Russian bots, but I think we’re finally sick of it. We humans are simple creatures- we like voyeurism, connection, gossip and praise. It gave us that and more. These days, no one follows me, waves or asks me to be friends anymore. I’m aware younger generations are still finding plenty of time for TikTok, but my generation- Generation X is disappearing. Fast. Facebook is tumbleweed. Linkedin has become Tony Robinson. Twitter was recently described as a ‘ghastly open mike night’, rather than a ‘digital town square’ in the Financial Times and since it added reels of strangers promoting stuff, Instagram lost its allure. I’m just an algorithm now, which suggests I like cat memes, Oprah Winfrey quotes and someone putting sushi in their child’s lunchbox perfectly. My hashtag generated likes are the stuff of shame.
But if I’m having a bad time, what about influencers? I’m observing their numbers stagnate. The platforms sold a dream and young women especially, where by filming themselves hiking, working out, cooking, shopping, giving advice, travelling they could have a shortcut to l fame, or any kind of employment. It was easy- leave school, film yourself day and night, become an influencer, sell stuff. But sadly, the secret got out and now everyone wants to do it. Social media ate itself. Video killed the social media star. I’m sure Mark Zuckerberg and his AI, Metaverse honchos have a few ideas up their sleeve, but for my generation, it’s over. What happens next?