Social media is on the decline. Instagram is all ads. No one's posting on BeReal. TikTok is for influencers. The new place for sharing: group chats.
And yet, after joining Lemmy and Mastodon, I post a lot more.
It's not just you — no one is posting on social media anymore
Submitted 8 months ago by Uranium3006@kbin.social to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
Jackthelad@lemmy.world 8 months ago
MentalEdge@ani.social 8 months ago
Like for real!! I was a semi-lurker on reddit. Posted a couple times a year…
I just passed 500 posts on Lemmy.
Weslee@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I’ve found lemmy to be alot less hostile, don’t care about downvotes, but attacking people because of opinions doesn’t sound like a fun time to me
lom@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Huh, when I clicked on your profile it says 0 posts…
MargotRobbie@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Part of the reason is Lemmy’s default sorting algorithm for comments, “Hot”, addresses reddit’s biggest flaw, which is that earlier comments snowballs with upvotes, so it buries late-comers to conversations, leading to the rat-race of everyone trying to get their funny one-liners in as early as possible for maximum karma (which also isn’t a thing here.)
The “Active” default sort for posts also means that comments are a lot more concentrated to what people are actually talking about and posts tend to be stickier. (also, botting upvote is a lot harder on Lemmy, since it’s easy to bot upvotes, it’s a lot harder to fake real conversations in comments. )
In fact, it is pointless to comment at all past like 4 hours on any post on reddit since it will just sit unread for hours, but here you can comment 1 day after a post and still have people talking to you.
Uranium3006@kbin.social 8 months ago
for me, I was motivated to make this my first post because I want to help solve the death of content issue we still have. it's gotten quite a lot of attention. I think that anywhere bigger, anything of relevance would have already been posted by the time I see it
Peacemeal12@kbin.social 8 months ago
Also, for me, it's the fact I do not feel my data and privacy are being siphoned, sold, and fingerprinted on this platform. Another factor is that I feel the people and interactions are pure and authentic, rather than astroturfed and ambiguous. That may change as the fedicerse grows, but for now it is bringing me back of the older days of the internet.
Rentlar@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
You bring up one advantage I see from Lemmy. Even though I’ve seen this article posted before (I think by L4Sbot in !technology@lemmy.world), the nature of de-centralized content means that cross-posting onto various servers is actually encouraged to get input from a variety of users from different communities (for example, people who have disabled viewing bot-account posts).
On Reddit, people would be quick to say “boooooo repoooost”, but I’ve not seen that too much of that, just a few complaints of “there’s too much orange guy and muskrat in my feed”.
MoreThanCorrect@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Same here. For me it’s because it feels smaller more often instead expecting to be buried.
Sunforged@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I just want the communities I post in to grow. Just trying to do my part to keep people engaged and encourage others to do the same.
Mane25@feddit.uk 8 months ago
Absolutely, I post much more here because I know actual people will actually read it and may actually respond like they would to an actual human. It’s like the old days of the internet.
paddirn@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I comment about as much as I did on reddit, but I feel like I see less negative replies. It doesn’t seem to matter what I’d post on there, somebody somewhere would have something shitty to say. It’s not my fault society can’t accept my seal clubbing hobby.
RagnarokOnline@reddthat.com 8 months ago
If you want to go clubbing with 90s phenom and signer of the hit song “Kiss from a Rose”, then you go for it! You are accepted here ❤️
ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
Hey me too! Just the Lemmy side (was never into twitters whole thing) but I actually post stuff here, even if it’s just cross posting.
I always used an alt to post on Reddit and did so very infrequently. I think I posted maybe 3 things on the 4 years on Reddit?
I comment a lot more, and have posted a ton more (even without removing the posts! And yea, 5 is a ton more since it’s in the last 2 months rather than 4years!)
I don’t even clear my comment history as a compulsive thing (I changed me behavior somewhat, to allow for this) because I don’t want to remove activity from the platform. I know it needs me to contribute so I do!
kratoz29@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Found the bot /s
c0c0c0@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I do, too, but it’s out of duty and I’ll stop when other people pick up the slack.
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Talking to real friends more interesting than arguing with strangers? Shareholders flummoxed! News at 11.
Klystron@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Hey, I take offense to that! I’m going to write a vitriolic response to your seemingly-normal-but-different-viewpoint-than-mine opinion where I’ll use non-applicable slurs and misinformation and then call you dumb if you post a sensible reply!
Poggervania@kbin.social 8 months ago
tfw you just stand on the sides and then meme on what’s happening with a lame joke instead of contributing your two cents on the socioeconomic practices that are happening in the US that are currently choking its working class to deat
lmaooooooo gottem
moistclump@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Hey, I take offence to your office! I’m going to write a nonsensical response that parallels your comment where I’ll use no sources and not really make any point whatsoever!
Nougat@kbin.social 8 months ago
... real friends ...
I don't understand.
kambusha@feddit.ch 8 months ago
Like text but with noises and fleshy.
speck@kbin.social 8 months ago
Flummoxed is such a choice word
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It’s kinda fetch
sagrotan@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I’ve seen the birth of it in my lifetime, I’ll see the death of it in my lifetime. Way to go, evolution!
joel_feila@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I was in high school when facebook went live, just out of curiosity how old were you?
cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
I was in college and I still do not understand it.
sblanziko@lemmy.world 8 months ago
So cruel
zxo@sopuli.xyz 8 months ago
The fediverse, while still social media, has a level of authenticity unrivaled by most major social medias in my opinion. Hopefully it stays that way!
PoliticalAgitator@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Has any communication system managed to do that? Once certain types of people catch the scent of profit, they tear the medium apart searching for every penny of it.
Letters became junk mail. Email became spam. Newspapers and magazines became mostly ads and shilled content. Television became for-profit news and reality content.
That authenticity is just going to make it more appealing to astro-turf.
R51@lemmy.world 8 months ago
we need to shitpost more. a neighborhood that is high in crime does not appeal to advertisers. like north korea, they live in paradise whilst convincing the rest of the world that it’s a shithole.
Mighty@lemmy.world 8 months ago
ah i guess that’s in the process of changing. you can see this happening right now. more right-wing memes, more “look at this cool movie/toy/outfit… i found. it’s really me, a normal human being just like you!”
ZodiacSF1969@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Lol I would bet the majority of that crap is from just normal people.
shino@lemmy.shinomoroll.net 8 months ago
Those platforms are business media now, not social media anymore.
Aderyna@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
This is really interesting to think about. On my photography IG the one users who are still having good reach are the ones who are promoting their patreon/presets/editing services, are constantly trying to earn money in some way and are posting a million reels every day.
More casual photographers like me are getting zilch. I used to get 1000 likes on 95% of my stuff with some going viral. Now I get 200 if I’m lucky, my reach in general is in the hole and I refuse to spend hours editing reels and begging for the algorithms attention. I’m close to shutting it down but I help mod a page right now so I’m hanging on for a bit yet.
brothershamus@kbin.social 8 months ago
No app better defines the changing nature of social media than Instagram. The app started as a digital scrapbook — a place to keep up with real-world connections, close friends, and family. While other networks had more users (Facebook) or generated more news (Twitter), Instagram seemed to define the ideal form of this era of social media. Instagram became a verb, an aesthetic, and a generational signifier.
huUURP! BLAAaahhriifgghhh. . .
Garbage marketing platform dies horribly. Thousands of clueless "journalists" bereft.
sndmn@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
Insta-gram
I thought it originated as a marketplace for single servings of drugs.
Grabthar@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I thought it was putting grandma on speed dial
ICastFist@programming.dev 8 months ago
Social media in general is in the following stage of Enshitification:
- Launch
- Growth at all costs, user focus
- Use size to bring advertisers
- Gradually shift focus to advertisers and money bringers
- Ensure users are way too invested to quit
- >> Sell out <<
It’s no surprise that people only end up seeing “carefully curated” content, it’s what “sells”, or rather, ensures people stay in the stupid app. From TFA: “While sharing has tailed off, consuming content hasn’t slowed”
I have an Insta account for some of the part time 3D printing I do, but since I’m not a “content creator”, my stuff has almost zero reach. Whenever I open the app, it’s roughly 1:1:1 posts of “recommended”, someone I actually follow, advert. 2/3 of everything shown to me is stuff I didn’t ask for, not to mention when the advertises are actual scams or fucking pyramids
tronx4002@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I first heard the term ‘enshitification’ on the last episode of On the Media. Perfect description
teft@startrek.website 8 months ago
webhead@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Discord is better than IRC imo. I used IRC for a VERY long time and Discord was the one that finally killed it for me. We’ll see if it lasts. I guess if they kill themselves (and they keep trying to), IRC will still be there waiting. Used to be on Rizon!
anotherandrew@lemmy.mixdown.ca 8 months ago
Discord is sooo awful imo. Every server has annoying “rule bots” or people constantly changing the look/feel of the channels or trying to engage you with @all or @channel (which you can ignore but it’s still annoying)… even the more technical ones have the same vibe. IRC is so much easier to communicate in IMO.
salton@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I hadn’t been on irc in over a decade. The issue is I don’t know anymore where anyone actually hangs out. Sure there are plenty of niche servers for software projects but as a general use sort of thing I really don’t know where to start again.
Dkarma@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Usenet and freenet haven’t changed at all. /List to list servers. Scroll until u find what u want Cake
Resol@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I also noticed how my social media usage (even on Lemmy and Mastodon) is consistently declining, I haven’t opened the clients I use for either platform in days (or possibly more than a week). It’s bad because I was pretty invested in the fediverse, but it’s good because now I can actually do something productive, or even go outside.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
It’s not bad… it’s actually healthy. I think that feeling that you must post on social media isn’t really good for the head.
Go on social media when you feel like it, but it’s best if the default is to not use social media.
Resol@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Good point
catch22@programming.dev 8 months ago
Agreed, this experiment should be able to last by itself without feeling obligated to post something. If that’s the case then it’s failed.
MargotRobbie@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Also, if no one is posting on social media, then what the hell are we all doing right now then?
Spambox@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
[deleted]Furbag@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The internet has been almost entirely enshittified by large corporations and government overreach. I really do wish there was a way to get back to Web 1.0 of mostly user-generated, self-hosted content, without the slow internet speeds or crappy web design motifs.
Might be possible if everyone is forced underground due to adblockers possibly getting killed off.
cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Let’s focus on Rampart.
westyvw@lemm.ee 8 months ago
I don’t consider this or reddit social media. I don’t know anyone, nor do I care to.
Instead it is like a collection of forums since forever like in the bbs days.
I pick and choose what rooms to go in and learn something. But it isn’t about me, or staying connected. You know, the social part.
eltrain123@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It’s more of an antisocial network
feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I see your point, but I only used Reddit for a long time and the difference was the anonymity, so it’s social media but minus the personal brand.
andrew@lemmy.stuart.fun 8 months ago
I’m assuming you’re just here studying nerds for your next blockbuster where you’re playing Ada Lovelace or something.
MargotRobbie@lemm.ee 8 months ago
… I don’t know what you’re talking about.
On a purely coincidentally note, how likely would you be in watching an Ada Lovelace biopic? No reason, just asking.
sznio@lemmy.world 8 months ago
My Facebook is only memes, only from the large meme pages, not the ones I like that I have to check manually since they’ll never end up in my feed. And news articles.
It started with Facebook just hiding what your friends are posting. It still happens that someone shares a photo once a year or so, but I will never get shown it. I just browse my friend’s profiles manually.
squiblet@kbin.social 8 months ago
That was extremely dissatisfying about Facebook. I’d see an endless stream of crap from people that I barely knew and didn’t care about at all, and then when I’d look at a profile of someone I actually knew and did want to keep up with, I’d see posts about significant and interesting things that happened in their lives which Facebook never showed me. I tried to get them to stop showing me irritating posts about politics - unfollow people, block people, mark “show less posts like this”, then it would come up with more political posts from people I didn’t even recognize. Meanwhile, oh, colleague got married…. sure, just never show me that post and show me 15 idiotic political memes instead.
sndmn@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
I still visit Reddit but I no longer engage in any way, other than reading comments. No up/down voting, not commenting, no reporting spam. Nothing but reading with multiple layers of ad-blocking.
stopthatgirl7@kbin.social 8 months ago
I almost never use Facebook anymore because wherever I’m on it, all I see are posts from groups I’m not even in, ads, and videos, and interspersed in all that algorithmically chosen content, the occasional post from people I actually follow and know. Social media isn’t social any more.
Even fricking tumblr now has videos on it, and you can only shut “tumblr live” off for a week at most before they come back.
ShooBoo@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I dont even want to talk to half the people I know anymore lol. I stopped using FB but keep it running because there are many years of pics and what not for family. And when I bring it down people freak out and think something is wrong with me. Other than that, it has been stripped of any identifying information, only has people I know and I never use it anymore. That was the only real ‘personal’ place I had on the internet. Everything else is fake names and whatnot, always has been.
Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Wtf is bereal
igorlogius@lemmy.world 8 months ago
if someone posts on social media and nobody reads it … has it really been posted?
Mighty@lemmy.world 8 months ago
it’s interesting how many comments show that people like to read the headline and are content with that to form an opinion. literally the first paragraph says that it’s not “THERE ARE NO POSTS” but it says that the “feed is swamped by a combination of perfectly curated photos and professionally created content.” - the problem is that the paid content creators have become GOOD. so many of them really look like they are just opinions and casual mentions of movies/clothes/…things. viral marketing is really at a point where so many fronts that have been established have been broken down in the guise of “irony” or “sarcasm”. “I’m only buying the Barbie merch ironically” etc.
djsaskdja@reddthat.com 8 months ago
Big shock considering everything we post online is being weaponized in various ways.
Boi@reddthat.com 8 months ago
I’ve been trying to cut down social media use ever since 2020. I don’t blame people for not posting most social media platforms are either boring or a toxic shit holes.
WheeGeetheCat@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Don’t mourn social media. It was always too easily astro-turfed.
Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 8 months ago
Group chats were for sharing before social media. It just out lasted them.
allocsb@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months ago
If a company ever puts ads in my group chats I will jump in a volcano
Caligvla@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
The fuck even is BeReal? LOL
HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I would argue that the quality of content is in decline more than numerical users. Also, the quantity of ads are much much higher, which hides what little good content there is.
Mix that in with political splits in social media sites (from left leaning Lemmy to the Facebook right), and you generally find yourself in an echo chamber with little to surprise you, and a lot of things confirming what you already know.
sj_zero 8 months ago
I deleted all my big tech accounts, and lots of people are posting on the fediverse.
finkrat@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Social media was fun until my family joined and scrutinized my posts, and then I lost all my friends
ArugulaZ@kbin.social 8 months ago
Well, it sucks. A certain South African Dutch chump with a Napoleon complex is 90% of the reason why.
cley_faye@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The three things cited in the post summary? Never been on them. I never ever heard of one of them. It seems to me that it’s more that these few platforms are struggling, and other (twitter/x, reddit, facebook, and other) just keep sailing smoothly.
Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Indian aunties were on the group chat trend before it was cool.
amenotef@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I have Instagram installed but frozen with “Ice Box” android app.
I open once per day or 2 days to catch up with some friends status. But I don’t see those neverending reels anymore.
kescusay@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The concept of “influencer” as a career needs to die a quick death.
Uranium3006@kbin.social 8 months ago
it's fancy speak for "salesman"
Yoryo@kbin.social 8 months ago
Ooo it's the equivalent of "side hustle" just being a 2nd job.
Badland9085@lemm.ee [bot] 8 months ago
Fancy speak for “cheap salesman who has a large network” /0.5s
Zima@kbin.social 8 months ago
I call them peddlers
AnonTwo@kbin.social 8 months ago
I mean I think it's a fine career, it's the name that's dumb.
For the most part they're just entertainers.
dragontamer@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Entertainers are supposed to be entertaining though.
These people have all the “entertainment” value of a late-night infomercial at best. “Oooh, watch me get excited about unboxing this item. Whatever could have Disney sent me this week?”
JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Like they could be a video journalist or a nature photographer or a lifestyle model. All those would be more descriptive than just influencer.
Very_Bad_Janet@kbin.social 7 months ago
I prefer "content creators. " Sametimes they can be very educational or entertaining. (I watch a lot of comedy, travel, and home workout content.)
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 8 months ago
You don’t like the Z-list celebrities?
looz@sopuli.xyz 8 months ago
Why though? You don’t have to be their customer. But clearly lot of people are.