Social Media Usage

[The Duke]

Do you think social media will usage will decline? What will things look like going forward?

Do you enjoy social media as much as you used to?

Statistics say the total time spent on social media is declining. Its the lowest its been since 2018 with an average user scrolling for 143min per day. There is annual user growth but you can see it starting to level off.

People are starting to voice privacy concerns and have limited what can be seen. They are also realizing you can't say whatever you want online and it not effect your career. With the recent Charlie Kirk assasination, many individuals online postings regarding him have caused issues with their employers.

Twitter(X) is a former shadow of itself and is barely breaking even these days. 80% of the staff has been let go since it's hey day.

Many gen x users are taking breaks or turning it off for good due to mental health reasons. We are starting to see more reports on mental health issues related to social media usage. I've heard some are interested in flip phones that are more basic than the phones most of us use now which would likely decrease their usage.

There are more bots generating content than ever. This definitely decreases the authenticity of social media. Facebook removes 1 billion fake accounts every year.

I personally don't have any social media accounts except a fake Facebook account so I can use marketplace and keep up with announcements regarding my hobby. I don't have any friends. Several years ago I had an actual account to promote my hobby with about 5000 friends but deleted it for reasons related to the fact-checkers and my distaste for Mark Zuckerburg. I tried X and just can't get interested in it. I definitely feel social media causes a lot of mental issues with people.

 

[Divorced w 3]

I got rid of mine in a request I made to her to get rid of hers. It's a massive drain, it pulls folks in the wrong direction, and that attorney you guys all love from NYC said it's a huge divorce driver so I don't regret it. It's also incredibly fake. The stuff folks post is BS, and I must say my general sense of wellbeing is way up, not scrolling like a drone. Anyone who wants you to see an important photo is going to send it to you, or connect with you in some way, anyway. It's unhealthy to be totally versed in the personal life of someone you haven't spoken to in college, and yet at the same time it's an actual focus of people's interest. Meanwhile, the opportunity cost of the drone scolling is huge. You're not doing something more productive, you're not sleeping as much, you're not spending your free time and energy for the purpose of health or professional advancement, and you're sharing all of your personal information with places like Uber, that are 100% going to use that information against you, as well as sell it to the highest bidder, either as meta data or if you're profile is high enough, about you personally. Screw, that.

 

[BaronOfHair]

Do you think social media will usage will decline?

Nope. Like talk radio and, later on TV, it's one more easy way to avoid viewing reality in all of it's majesty, mundaneness, and sometimes horror... Therefore, many will continue to do so, and pretend that what they're doing actually = "Educating" themselves

The disastrous effects of consuming lots of news have been documented for decades now, yet that hasn't stopped anyone from pumping their brains full of that crap. Basic logic dictates that a substantial portion of our species will continue to behave as they always have

 

[Vanderdonck]

There are Gen Z buying flip phones now. I think social media has become repetitive and banal, and people are waking up to its negative effects.

I mostly use it for business and then pretty sparingly. I scroll once in a while but I've noticed what's happening on IG is what happened to FB...it's becoming the same worn out memes, terrible dad jokes, knockoff comic strips and reels being copied and redistributed to death. Not a lot of new there. Was better when it was more for posting pics. It is good for catching fresh stand up comedy material in small doses and having a laugh. I stay away from anything topical or news-y.

Maybe some new twist or platform will come and shake things up but right now it just feels like background noise.

 

[Travel memoir21]

We need some sort of social media presence, because to many, it’s the only support group that they have. That Middle age divorced, War Veteran living by himself is logged on to several Veteran support groups pages and has a group of guys or unknown brothers helping him, giving him advise about everyday life. The same can be said for that alcoholic barely getting by and need some brotherly motivation to help him out.

 

[BaronOfHair]

There are Gen Z buying flip phones now. I think social media has become repetitive and banal, and people are waking up to its negative effects

Perhaps

Bottom line here is that social media has the same perks and perils as radio and TV... There's content that can enhance our lives in some way, content that has zero effect, and still more than can have a deleterious effect on us

Determining what's what is ultimately a matter of personal responsibility. Now as back in the day, there will always be a portion of our species who regularly fall for everything they see and hear on and out of the media