Using social media used to be fun. In 2024, that fun is mostly gone.What previously gave joy, now feels more like a work. Many people scroll for hours each day, yet feel bored, stressed, or drained after.
What Changed?
Apps have changed. A lot. Social media isn’t just for friends anymore. It’s full of ads, shopping links, AI posts, and strangers trying to get your attention. Even when you’re not looking for anything, the feed never stops. It's endless videos, arguments, products, and noise.
Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and others now focus more on selling than socializing. They’re built to make money. This means more ads, more sponsored posts, and more stuff you didn’t ask to see.
Instagram Feels Like One Big Ad
Instagram used to be about photos from friends and family. Now? You’re lucky to see a real post from someone you know. Open the app, and the first thing you might see is an ad—maybe for bidets, maybe for shoes. Scroll down, and there’s another ad. And another. Even if you find a meme or post you like, it’s mixed with stuff you don’t care about.
Then there are Reels. Many are random or off-topic. Some show cats or roosters in pants. Others show people doing makeup while strangers argue in the comments. It’s easy to lose 30 minutes without noticing. And when you do, you might feel worse than when you started.
TikTok: Entertaining But Overloaded
TikTok still has funny and interesting videos. Its “For You” feed often knows what you like. But the number of ads and TikTok Shop posts makes it feel like TV commercials between short shows.
The scroll never ends. One video leads to another. You open the app to pass a few minutes, but suddenly, it’s been an hour. And most of the time, you’ve learned nothing and talked to no one.
Real Connection Is Hard to Find
Social media was used for communication in the past. Now, it feels more like being alone in a crowd. You scroll alone. You laugh alone. You argue with strangers alone.
The apps push products and content, not real conversations. Even when you comment or share, it feels empty. There’s no lasting connection, just more noise.
Even the Dictionary Knows Something’s Wrong
People's sentiments are reflected in the year's two significant words:
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“Brain rot” was Oxford’s Word of the Year. It means how your brain feels after spending too much time online watching useless stuff.
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“Enshittification” was chosen by Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary. It describes how once-good platforms slowly get worse as they chase more profit.
Both words explain what’s happening. We once liked these apps. Now they’re hard to enjoy.
Facebook, Twitter, and Threads Aren’t Much Better
Facebook, if you still use it, is full of junk. You see more suggested Reels, group invites, and products than updates from real friends. It’s cluttered and confusing.
Twitter doesn’t even exist as it was. It’s now called X. Under Elon Musk, it’s full of bots and propaganda. Many people left because it no longer feels safe or useful.
Threads, Instagram’s version of Twitter, looked good at first. But it quickly became filled with copied memes, clickbait questions, and fights over pop culture. The feed shows more random viral posts than real people’s thoughts. It also lacks private messages, which makes real conversation hard.
They added custom feeds in November, but even those are filled with the same kind of noise. Plus, the default feed still shows random junk, and you can’t change that yet.
What About New Apps?
Some new apps tried to fix things. Users were advised by BeReal to upload once daily without filters. Hive looked fun for a while. SpaceHey and noplace brought back an old-school Myspace vibe. But none of them really stuck.
Reddit and Discord work better for real talk, but they feel more like forums or chatrooms than classic social media. You might find community there, but it’s harder to dive in if you’re new.
Mastodon and Bluesky are growing too, but they can feel like clubs where everyone already knows each other. That can be awkward and unwelcoming. But at least they aren’t overrun with ads—yet.
Meta Is Going All-In On AI
AI Studio, a tool that enables individuals and businesses to create AI chatbots, was introduced by Meta this year. These bots might pose as personalities, influencers, or celebrities. You can “chat” with them in DMs, even fake AI girlfriends.
Meta appears to encourage users to form bonds with bots rather than with actual people. It’s strange and feels very disconnected from what social media was supposed to be.
People Want Real Connection Again
Many users are burned out. They long for the honesty, the joy, and the simplicity. Some have gone back to Tumblr, where feeds are quieter and easier to control. You can still make your page your own. You can still be weird. However, Tumblr has also faced issues, ranging from regulation changes to its current collaboration with AI.
One Tumblr post recently went viral: “We didn’t get better. The rest of the internet just got worse.” That sums it up for a lot of people.
What Now?
It’s clear that people still want to be online. We still want to share, laugh, and talk. But the big platforms aren’t giving us what we need.
They want clicks, views, and sales. We want friends, fun, and freedom.
Until something changes, many will keep scrolling without smiling. They’ll open apps hoping to feel better, but close them feeling worse. They’ll keep looking for that one post, that one comment, that one laugh—but it’s buried under ads, fights, and AI noise.
Maybe the next big thing won’t be shiny or smart. Maybe it’ll just be kind, real, and quiet.
That might be enough.