The Great Social Media Exodus

The Ongoing Quest to Rediscover a Love for Social Media

Let’s face it, the honeymoon is over when it comes to our relationship with mainstream social media. Gone are the charming days of the mid to late 2000s where having a constant, digital connection to far-flung friends and family members seemed like futuristic serendipity to wide-eyed and eager audiences. As we approach 2018 and Facebook nears its fourteenth birthday, the thrill is sadly gone. It’s been gone, in fact.

More and more young people are abandoning conventional social media services in search of something more.

Why is that exactly?

It certainly isn’t a simple question to answer, but if we cut into the issue with the sharp edge of Occam’s Razor, we can at least begin to see that, in the simplest sense, there is something inherently wrong with the current social media landscape. If that weren’t the case, the biggest players in digital content sharing wouldn’t be hemorrhaging their most important demographic daily.

Let’s use the hulking beast that is Facebook as an example. Anyone who was old enough to have access to the internet when Facebook first launched could tell you all about the “warm and fuzzy” feelings of excitement they felt when logging into their newly created accounts every night after school or work. It was a brave new world, where anyone with a camera and a computer could share their thoughts, photos, and everyday occurrences with those they chose to connect with. It was a magical time. A simpler time.

Then came the news feed, and then the “wall.” Soon after, friends gained the ability to “like” posts, and then the Facebook Timeline reared its head. In the years between 2010 and today, more and more features began appearing one after the other, including the marketplace, Facebook Places, photos, videos, events, live streaming, mentions…you get the idea. What began as a groundbreaking way to share our lives with the world slowly but surely evolved, or perhaps devolved into something much, much more than that.

Somewhere along the way, David became Goliath, and though Goliath may have all of the newest armor and weapons at his disposal, there’s something to be said for the allure of the simple slingshot.

In addition to the ever-increasing “features” of the now bloated social media giant, Facebook has been plagued with a slew of other rather unsettling accusations of late. Just recently, former Facebook Vice President of User Growth Chamath Palihapitiya spoke to an audience from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he stated that Facebook and other social media platforms are “ripping society apart,” also describing the current social media landscape as “short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops” for addicted users.

Even the most pro-Facebook fanboys would have a hard time arguing against Palihapitiya’s statements. There is an addictive quality to social media, not unlike the dopamine rush one feels when partaking in illicit drugs or playing the penny slots at the nearest casino. Anyone who has been using Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Snapchat, or Instagram for an extended time could attest to the addictive nature of these platforms. They hook us, and we inevitably come crawling back for more; an abusive relationship on a near-cosmic scale. Perhaps this is a part of why so many younger users are abandoning ship.

The Huffington Post published a pretty interesting piece that listed quotes from various millennials where they described why they decided to finally ditch social media for their own well-being. As could be expected, the reasons for bailing on Facebook and Twitter were many. The acutely self-aware users attributed the shallow, narcissistic, addictive, and bloated nature of mainstream social media culture to their departure. One user’s description of their battle with social media addiction is eerily similar to Palihapitiya’s “dopamine-driven” analogy.

Reddit user Calimariae said, “I concluded a few years back that I invested too much time checking up on what everyone else was up to, and that it wasn’t good for my mental health. Quit cold turkey, and I’m in a far better place today because of it.”

If you’re looking for more where that came from, you’ll find more millennial critiques of social media in the full HuffPost story here.

Rather than simply abandoning their social media accounts, there are those who are actively fighting to combat the negative effects of social media. Time Well Spent is one such organization. Founded by former Google Design Ethicist Tristan Harris, the recently created nonprofit is looking for new ways to foster well-being in the face of the constant onslaught of digital content being thrown our way. They see social media addiction as a largely “invisible problem,” hidden behind our favorite apps’ tendency to capture and hold our attention for hours on end.

The undeniable fact of the matter is that social behemoths such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have little in the way of choices when it comes to addressing the consequences of their respective digital goldmines. And though they probably could be doing more to help in the fight against digital content “addiction,” it’s easy to start pointing fingers without looking at the bigger picture. Though dopamine may be at the root of both tobacco and content addiction, the latter does seem to be a bit more complex.

If progress is to be made, it’s likely best to look at the issue as a two-way street rather than going straight to the Philip Morris comparisons. Facebook’s own research has found that the positive or negative impact of their product is largely dependent on how each individual uses it. Well…duh, but the fact that they’re green-lighting the research in the first place is a step in the right direction.

The good news is that the issue has recently taken a center stage. We may just be on the verge of a cultural revolution when it comes to our social media habits. The question is, where do we go from here? As more and more young people begin to sour on mainstream social media, do they turn to up-and-coming alternatives or get out of the game entirely? Maybe we’ll see the rise of something fresh — a new app whose principles run counter to what we currently have, with an emphasis on simplicity and, dare I say, authenticity! Regardless, the honeymoon’s over, the love is lost, and the quest for a more wholesome social media experience continues.