The Quiet Death of Social Media

We asked 100 people what they really think about social media today

For something designed to connect us, social media has never felt more isolating.

Ten years ago, these platforms promised intimacy, a way to share moments, stay close, and participate in each other’s lives. Today, they feel less like social spaces and more like broadcast networks. What began as connection has matured into mass media: an advertising infrastructure disguised as community. We asked 100 people what they honestly think about social media now, and the dominant feeling wasn’t excitement. It was exhaustion.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped being users and became audiences. Platforms no longer prioritize people we know, they prioritize what keeps us scrolling. The shift from chronological feeds to algorithmic entertainment changed everything. Social media is no longer about interaction; it’s about consumption. We are not logging on to see friends. We are entering an infinite content machine. And the machine is efficient.

A cultural mood is forming: burnout. People describe feeling overstimulated, distracted, and mentally dull. Short-form video has rewired attention spans. We skim life the way we skim feeds, forgetting things seconds after seeing them. Nothing lingers. This is not just digital tiredness, it’s cognitive fatigue.

And yet, the most unsettling truth is that leaving isn’t simple. Social media has quietly become infrastructure. Professional networks live on LinkedIn. Small businesses depend on Instagram. Cultural conversation happens through memes and microtrends born on TikTok. To opt out is not rebellion; it’s a form of self-exile, and not everyone can afford that. A new social divide is emerging: those who can disconnect, and those who must remain visible to survive socially or economically.

At the same time, social media has industrialized comparison. We don’t just measure ourselves against friends anymore, we compare ourselves to everyone. Homes, bodies, relationships, careers, lifestyles. The feed turns personal identity into a never-ending self-improvement project. There is always a better version of you being sold back to you. The result? We are constantly optimizing and rarely content.

Something else has quietly disappeared: curiosity. Before social media, we told stories. Now we pre-consume them. We already know how the trip went, what the house looks like, who someone is dating. Conversations are cut short by three words: “I saw it.” Mystery is fading. So is the joy of discovery.

Users describe a strange paradox: constant consumption with diminishing reward. We scroll for stimulation but feel emptier after. Platforms are designed to remove friction - infinite content, immediate dopamine, endless novelty. Yet nothing feels new. We’ve seen everything. Nothing sticks.

Even the influencer fantasy is losing its grip. Audiences are no longer convinced. The “authentic lifestyle” being sold online is visibly constructed, and influencers preaching digital minimalism while monetizing it feel less aspirational and more absurd. The curtain has slipped.

Cultural forecasters predict a swing back toward slowness, intention, and friction. If social media is built for instant gratification, the next digital wave may introduce pause - spaces designed for depth rather than speed, reflection rather than reaction.

The question is not whether social media will change. It’s whether we will.

FAVOURITE QUOTES FROM OUR 100 INTERVIEWS

“No one is built to know this much or be connected to this much. It’s overwhelming.”

“We have started to lose the art of curiosity and the art of catching up IRL.”

“Remember before social media, when we’d come back to school after a weekend and talk for hours about everything that happened? That doesn’t really happen anymore.”

“I don’t even ask my friends questions anymore because I already know or saw from social media.”

“The amount of conversations that have been cut short – oh I know I saw (on social media)”

“My friend moved to a new place and country and I have to admit I am less in a rush to go visit her because I have already seen everything on her about her new life on

Instagram…”

“Women might not be this obsessed with men if we weren’t trapped in this system of stalking his followers or whether he saw my story but didn’t text back. What does it mean? It means nothing — but I swear since social media exists we overanalyse everything.”

“Mhh .. the self improvement aspect – we are constantly being fed on social media how to be better, skinnier, prettier, healthier, tanner –constantly trying to improve ourself and everything around us and who we are. Like when do we actually get to enjoy who we are? News flash: we don’t.”

“I think social media wants us to feel ugly so we spend money.”

“Imagine not knowing what everyone’s house looked like — you’d decorate your own exactly how you want. How freeing would that feel? Same goes for dressing the way you want.”

“Comparison is the thief of joy — and social media turned it into an industry.”

“I noticed I am constantly comparing specifically in my relationships or dating life. We see all these options in the entire world which in a way gives me hope to find my big love, however whenever I meet someone and we click I notice both of us are still on dating apps or still kind of talking to other people or liking hot girls or boys Instagram profiles. I can’t really explain but I guess it has to do with the dopamine hit we get from all these other things or people, when actually the reality is that it distracting me from the person who is right in front of me all along. In short – social media and dating apps are giving us endless options so you never really focus on the person who is in front of you.”

“Honestly, it’s exhausting.”

“I can feel my self having gotten dumber over the years haha. Someone pointed out to me the other day that I speak in tik tok slang. I started reading a book now again.”

“I have seen it all. There is nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing to really discover anymore on social media. And if I do see something that I find interesting, I only find it interesting for a second and then I swipe and move on and totally forget about it again.”

“I don’t see any posts of my friends anymore. They are all buried under thousands of ads, and I honestly do not feel like scrolling until I have potentially found a post of a friends.”

“I only look at stories on Instagram because they are the only thing which feel “more real” in time and current. I guess that is where I actually get to see updates from my friends.”

“We need to invent a new platform. Social media is out.”

“My attention span has gotten so bad since tik tok and reels exist. I am actually embarrassed about it.”

“I’m addicted. Its bad and I know it however I cant change it.”

“I’ve noticed my self spending more time in the digital world than in the real world.”

“Right now there is this huge trend on social media about digital minimalism, prioritizing tangible, offline experiences over constant, hyper-fast digital engagement. However influencers are promoting and calling this an ‘analog lifestyle’ while filming it for social media. This is so absurd to me.”

“I’ve worked with influencers and in social media before and let me tell you – its ALL fake.”

“Social media is out, influencers are out”

“My friends message me on Instagram or WhatsApp or snapchat and in addition send me all these memes and reels, and I can barely find the time or energy to reply. Since social media exists I have become available on all these different platforms and apps and I have just totally become overwhelmed.”