Social media is becoming less social

Listen to the article 4 min

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

A recent study published by Incogni found that social media dynamics are shifting, becoming less about social posting and updates, and more about entertainment, algorithms and short-form content.

The insights are based on a survey of 1,000 Americans who were asked about their social media usage and how it’s changed over the past few years.

The results reflect what broader trend data suggests. First, in terms of posting, the data found that 55% of respondents are posting less to social media now than they did five years ago.

That aligns with other trend data, which showed that fewer people are posting online, and more people are sharing posts and updates with their closer friends within private DM groups.

That said, the amount of active posters on social media has been relatively low for a while.

In 2019, Pew Research data revealed that around 80% of all tweets on Twitter (as it was called at the time) were published by just 10% of the app’s users.

Indeed, the much referenced 90-9-1 principle, which was published by The Guardian in 2006, suggested that for all collaborative websites, including social media apps, about 90% of participants will only read content, while 9% will edit and just 1% will be active creators.

A lot has changed online in 20 years, but this proportion appears to be holding steady.

In fact, it could be more exaggerated now, given the trends reported by Incogni. That would mean only a small fraction of profiles are ever sharing anything, which points to limits in online perspectives.

Social media’s reliance on such a small percentage of creators could also be leading to social posting burnout. More than half of survey respondents said that maintaining a social media presence “feels like work.”

As shown in this overview, that pressure is being particularly felt by younger creators, who are more likely to aspire to make money online. The successes of creators including MrBeast have paved the way for a new generation of users who may believe that making money online is relatively easy.

But it’s not.

According to research from Influencer Marketing Hub, more than 48% of creators make less than $15,000 per year from their online efforts. Research published by TubeFilter in 2015 suggested that 95% of all YouTube views were driven by just 5% of all active accounts.

Breaking through is tough. And as a new generation of users who’ve been sold on the concept of simply doing what they love online and getting paid for it, it’s becoming clear that it’s a lot of work.

These figures also point to a potential reason why people generally feel more relaxed when they take a break from social media and messaging apps.

Another factor to consider is the increased presence of political content and algorithm-driven division.

Algorithms incentivize users to post content that triggers an emotional response, which then drives more partisan posting. The resulting angst gives creators a dopamine-fueled rush of likes and comments on their update.

That incentive has played a big role in sustaining political division, which has driven more people away from social apps, per the report.

Though whether users are actually reducing their time spent on social media, as opposed to just saying they’re spending less time online, is another question. Meta has reported that time spent on Facebook and Instagram has increased in recent years, primarily due to its increased insertion of short videos into user feeds.

Again, this points to a larger shift in social media behavior, where people are moving away from the social and connective aspects and moving towards using social apps as a form of entertainment.

That’s an important note for marketers to be aware of.