What is the Future of Social Networks?

An overview of "The Future of Social Media is a Lot Less Social" by Brian X. Chen from The New York Times.

With top social networks such as Facebook and Instagram focusing on connecting users to brands and ads rather than each other, it is apparent that social media is “becoming less social.” There is now a culture where users are shown sponsored posts more often than non-sponsored ones and primarily shown professional influencers who pay to be put on the map. However, this change has been noticed, and people have started to flock to smaller alternative social networks. Apps like Mastodon, which is an alternative to Twitter and gathers various networks into one site, and Discord, which allows for various separated servers and inherently, identities, to be gathered in one place, have risen exponentially in popularity. This trend is also shown through users flocking to social networks that focus on select niches such as Letterboxd, an app for users to rate movies, and Nextdoor, an app allowing “neighbors” to correspond about happenings in a select area. Some are even politically leaning, with right-wing alternative networks such as Gab and Truth Social growing in popularity in our polarizing political climate.

This shift has proven to be interesting, as developers of the world’s largest social networks such as Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Meta, and Jack Dorsey, a founder of Twitter, have not only acknowledged, but have also predicted, this transition to smaller and more direct networks. Dorsey has even endorsed the “decentralized social network,” believing in the ability for users to be able to choose the content they are shown rather than having it be fed purely by algorithms; Dorsey stepped down as chief executive of Twitter in 2021. Conversely, these large social networks have championed consolidating all features of a “successful” network into one network, with Instagram launching the app “Threads” to resemble Twitter, the feature “Reels” to resemble TikTok, and “Instagram Direct” to add a direct messaging feature. Other networks such as Snapchat and YouTube have done the same, each releasing their own versions of TikTok. This trend is thought-provoking as on one side, networks must constantly innovate and consolidate to gather users into one network, improve efficiency, and have an all-in-one feel. However, on the other side, there has been pushback from users who want more focused social networks and separation of features, interests, and online identities.

While there are stark issues with the rising popularity of alternative social networks, with networks such as Gab being an echo chamber of online hate and conducive to the January 6th insurrection, networks such as Ahwaa, a network for LGBTQ users in the Persian Gulf where being gay is “deemed illegal,” have emerged. Not all networks have political leanings with networks such as LinkedIn, Artifact, and Goodreads being extremely popular as online identities become, and stay, “increasingly fragmented among multiple sites.” Harvard has launched a research program “devoted to rebooting social media,” where students experiment with researching and developing new networks. In it, they have reinforced the prediction of users straying from the algorithmic and targeted ads of traditional social networks and moving towards the personability of niche and alternative social networks. It is unknown what the future of large social networks will look like, as focus on brand subscription will stay as a main objective, but it is definite that the user base and popularity of smaller social networks will not be waning any time soon.

Cover image by Kasia Bojanoska on Dribbble.