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Title: In 2024, using social media felt worse than ever
As I scrolled through my social media feeds in early 2024, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair and disillusionment. The supposed consequences of excessive internet use have finally caught up with us, leaving me wondering if there’s any way to escape the toxic wasteland that is today’s online landscape.
The Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year, “enshittification,” perfectly encapsulates the state of social media today. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter have abandoned their core principles in pursuit of profit, leading to a cesspool of clickbait, propaganda, and shallow interactions. The once-peaceful spaces where we shared thoughts and ideas are now overrun with bots, spam, and self-serving content.
I still maintain an account on Threads, Meta’s latest attempt at reviving the Twitter experience. However, my experience has been marred by the constant barrage of engagement-bait posts, regurgitated memes, and lack of genuine human connection. The absence of direct messaging (DMs) only compounds the issue, forcing conversations to take place in public view.
The few communities that do manage to form on these platforms feel impersonal and curated for maximum virality. It’s no wonder that I often find myself seeking refuge on more niche networks like Mastodon and Bluesky, which, while underpopulated, at least offer a sense of intimacy and shared purpose.
But even in these alternative spaces, the atmosphere remains stifling. The fear of algorithmic manipulation and surveillance hangs over our heads like the Sword of Damocles, making it difficult to truly let our guard down. It’s as if we’re trapped in some sort of dystopian virtual reality, where the very concept of genuine human connection has been lost.
The rise of AI-powered chatbots is a clear indication that social media companies have finally admitted defeat. Rather than fostering meaningful relationships with friends and like-minded individuals, they now rely on artificial intelligence to masquerade as real people. It’s as if they’re trying to replace the emotional labor required for human connection with automated interactions.
As I scrolled through my feeds, a Tumblr poster caught my attention, which eerily echoed the sentiments of many an online dweller: “we didn’t get better; the rest of the internet just got worse.” It seems that instead of evolving and learning from past mistakes, we’ve merely witnessed a downward spiral into chaos.
The once-promising platforms like BeReal, Hive, and SpaceHey have failed to capture mainstream attention, leaving us with little choice but to succumb to the whims of the algorithm. And yet, amidst this despair, there remains an unquenchable thirst for genuine social media experiences that foster connection and community.
Source: www.engadget.com
