Technology & Internet
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Why More and More People Are Quitting Social Media: My Perspective

It’s no longer a secret and not something Meta and probably TikTok can hide either. More and more people - namely younger ones - are quitting social media in record numbers. There are even news reports on it as well. It is both noticed and felt by the social media giants. And not only are more people quitting, but the platforms have seen a significant drop in user activity from the people who are still there.

So what has happened? What is going on? Why are people giving up on the Gram, Facebook, or even TikTok? Plus I will also give my reasons for why I think this is happening so much as well.

A toast to Australia

First off I want to give Australia a big kudos for banning social media for kids 16 and under, and I have always been on board with this even being a thing for the U.S. as well. Hopefully that will happen down the road. Many people oppose this policy but I honestly see no value in kids and young teenagers spending time on social media, especially who are already impressionable and not really being raised right by their parents. It teaches them foolish trends, pranks, and group-think that they really don’t need in their heads. With that being said, I am glad Australia has made this move.

Why More and More People Are Quitting Social Media: My Perspective

The content is losing people’s interest

So what is causing the drop in social media now? Well, I think we all can agree the biggest thing is of course……….AI. It is overused slop with poor quality that’s being forced on us day by day because the tech giants are maniacally excited about it, particularly because the race for AI is making them so much money. But we are all so worn out with it. The fake models you can tell right away are AI, the ridiculous AI-generated skits and posts trying to appear like real stories but are absolute lies, and the constant annoying AI-made ads.

It’s just a lot of overexposure that’s beginning to irritate people much more than inspire them, and even more so with the fact that AI is rapidly replacing human jobs. How are we supposed to be thrilled about something that only makes the tech companies rich while people not only lose jobs but increasingly get their applications denied by AI systems?

Why More and More People Are Quitting Social Media: My Perspective

And of course the content in general is just not keeping people’s interest much anymore. IG is oversaturated with ghetto memes, ghetto street pranks, cheeseball couple reels, news stories that happened years ago but are being dishonestly posted as if it was today, fake comments and copycat comments from bots, and of course OF models. Even TikTok is getting old with its constant “viral” videos of someone doing something stupid, or ridiculous conspiracy theories. I don’t think I need to say much about FB as it’s already been losing users anyway and is mostly a platform for all the old fogies who still care.

It is no longer hard to cut it out

It may be possible that a lot of folks have seen their hey day of social media and are just getting bored with it. Kind of like a “been there, done that” sort of thing. Even for me I am far less active on it now. Once upon a time I was your classic Grammer, posting or reposting stories almost everyday, making grid posts on my page, and even creating my own reels that at one point were taking off and getting more exposure - I was probably close to my page really blowing up and could’ve even started getting monetized, but things had happened in my personal life that took me off social media for a time.

Why More and More People Are Quitting Social Media: My Perspective

I also got sick of friends and co-workers bombing me almost daily with memes and reels, instead of trying to have a real conversation. Seems to be that so many people think keeping a connection with you on social media has to be about the constant funnies in your inbox, and I honestly started ignoring some of them.

After a while I even enjoyed being MIA and no one knowing what was going on with me. Then I started coming back to my old habits, but still not quite as much as before. Fast forward to now and I am very quiet again. I still chat with a few friends and make the occasional post, but it’s rare. Where once upon a time I had to try to force myself to get off the Gram for a while, I now have no issues with not being active for however long I want.

The biggest reasons why I think people are quitting social media

Researchers have noticed that not only are more people getting bored with social media, but they are also much less active on it. Make no mistake, people are still on these platforms, but they are posting and being interactive at a far lower rate than 3 or 4 years ago. Researchers are speculating that AI is a large reason for this as we already covered. But users are perpetually scrolling and just not really caring anymore, and no longer being interested in posting their lives and such either.

Why is this?

Privacy

I honestly think it’s because people are wanting to stay private a lot more now. Anything you post on social media can technically still be seen all over the Internet. Somewhere out there bots and scammers are looking at your page and stealing your pictures to use on catfish accounts or take a picture you posted and say it’s their own, and not necessarily of yourself but could be of your car, thing you made, etc. I think the reality of being seen/watched by someone out there you don’t even know exists has become a bigger concern than people’s need to be seen as a social media icon.

Why More and More People Are Quitting Social Media: My Perspective

People are also trying to stay more private now because they either have bullies or haters who are following them or lurking on their pages. And even when your page is private you can still have jealous family members, fake friends, and co-workers who are watching what you post and just waiting to gossip about it at work or school. And others are watching but never Liking or commenting on your posts, or even purposely trying to disregard it. And some are quietly taking screenshots and showing them to your enemies or nosy relatives. I think a lot of people are growing increasingly uncomfortable with anonymous observers on their social media and are preferring to keep their personal lives unseen and unknown.

Poor self-esteem

Depression is probably another factor. Apparently many people, particularly younger ones, tend to feel depressed and insecure by seeing other users and social media “influencers” doing and posting things that look cool or luxurious, making them feel insignificant, or they feel bad about themselves seeing other people who they think are living higher and better looking than they are. So this also probably makes many people less interested in posting their own lives and looks that they feel are nothing to write home about.

Why More and More People Are Quitting Social Media: My Perspective

Algorithms

People might be getting fed up with the algorithm system as well. So much of the Internet nowadays is a game of get-noticed that is left in the hands of abusive AI with secret algorithms you have to master in order to be seen, get your page promoted, or even get sales to your online store. Social media is dictated by these algorithms that either punish or reward you by hiding your posts, comments, or pages or putting them at the top based on your popularity, content, how active you are, or even because of what you say. That is simply not the way real life works, but the algorithm system wants it to be. It’s possible that even this is starting to get to people too.

Where do we go from here?

Why More and More People Are Quitting Social Media: My Perspective

Maybe a return to the age of having real life activity and connections is on the horizon, who knows? Without a doubt there are some great things about social media that we all enjoy and can be used and are inspiring, but at the end of the day I think these platforms have actually hurt a lot more than helped. It’s changed people’s mentality for the worst, made them want to be isolated over wanting real connections and things to do, and it teaches people to be followers of all the wrong things and value all the wrong "influencers."

With that being said, I think I’ll log off for a while and go outside to get some sunshine. Take care.

Why More and More People Are Quitting Social Media: My Perspective
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