Social media: from digital town hall to coffee house

According to the Economist, the world of social media platforms is undergoing a significant transformation, with video content taking the spotlight and personal sharing and posting on the decline. TikTok, a popular Chinese-owned short-video app, has played a crucial role in this shift since its launch in 2017, captivating young users and inspiring a wave of copycats. In response, major platforms such as Meta (including Facebook and Instagram), Pinterest, Snapchat, and YouTube have added video features to stay relevant.

The rise of video content has led to a change in user behaviour, with users spending more time consuming videos rather than actively creating their own content. Creating videos require more effort and skill compared to quick text updates, leading users to be more selective about what they post. An increasing number of users feel that their everyday lives are too mundane to justify frequent posts, possibly influenced by the influx of influencer content. Research by Gartner has shown that Americans’ enjoyment of documenting their lives online has decreased from 40% in 2020 to just 28% in 2023.

Furthermore, social media platforms have shifted their content selection algorithms to a more personalized approach. TikTok pioneered the use of an “interest graph” that considers user preferences inferred from the videos they engage with, rather than relying solely on social connections. Other platforms have followed suit, serving users diverse content from outside their immediate networks.

As a result of these changes, users’ newsfeeds have become detached from their friends and family networks, leading to a decline in personal sharing. Users have transitioned from being content creators to passive consumers. The Reuters Institute has observed a trend of “passive news consumers” who view news content without actively engaging with it. In countries like the UK, 68% of adults are categorized as passive news consumers.

Simultaneously, social media platforms have devalued news content. Meta’s decision to block news content on Facebook and Instagram in response to publishers seeking compensation exemplifies this shift. Facebook has rebranded its newsfeed as a “discovery engine,” seeking engaging content from across the internet. Consequently, news publishers have faced challenges, with a significant decline in internet traffic from social media platforms. BuzzFeed News and Vice News are among the publishers that have been negatively affected, with closures and cutbacks.

These changes have prompted political campaigns to explore alternative communication methods. Platforms such as TikTok, Threads, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ have implemented advertising policies that limit or ban political advertisements. As a result, email and private group chats have become important channels for engaging with voters without relying on social media algorithms.

The complexity of advertising policies across different social media platforms has added to the challenges faced by political campaigns. In the past, election campaigns were easier to manage when there were only a few dominant social media platforms.

While there is a lot of focus on governance issues, the underlying challenge is how to deal with the trade-offs built into human communication.

As the Economist concludes:

When platforms swing back towards private groups, they inevitably have less oversight. When people escape their echo chambers, they may well face more extreme content. When users embrace harmless entertainment, they see less news. As social networks wither, platform operators and users should devote less time to the old battles and more to grappling with the new.

Sources:
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/02/01/the-end-of-the-social-network
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2024/02/01/as-facebook-turns-20-politics-is-out-impersonal-video-feeds-are-in