Is the golden age of social networks over?

Is the golden age of social networks over? Between the surge in content created by artificial intelligence (AI) and platforms’ efforts to maximise users’ screen time, they are increasingly losing their “social” character.

Social networks no longer inspire excitement. A major study by GWI for the Financial Times, covering 250,000 adults in more than 50 countries, found that time spent on these platforms peaked in 2022 before beginning a steady decline.

On average, internet users now spend 2 hours 20 minutes scrolling each day, a drop of around 10% over two years. Young people, despite being the earliest enthusiasts of the TikTok era, are turning away most rapidly: teenagers and young adults are abandoning platforms they once considered indispensable.

These findings support another UK survey published in June, which found that 47% of 16-21-year-olds would rather have grown up in a world without the internet. A further 68% said they felt worse after using social networks, while 50% of respondents backed the idea of a “digital curfew”. For them, the internet, once seen as a symbol of freedom, has become a place of relentless pressure, comparison and mental exhaustion.

AI content is transforming social networks

This loss of interest comes alongside a major shift: the growing presence of AI-generated content, which is now widespread across most social networks. The trend shows no sign of slowing as technology giants continue to launch ever more image and video generators.

Killing time rather than connecting

In this setting, it is reasonable to question whether the term social network still has any meaning, when these platforms’ priority is now to hold users’ attention, even if that strips away their human substance.

The study also shows that the number of people using social networks to stay in touch with loved ones, express themselves or meet new people has fallen by more than a quarter since 2014. Conversely, the proportion of people who open these apps automatically, simply to kill time, continues to rise.

Are social networks losing momentum?

It is clearly too early to declare the end of social networks, which still draw billions of users. Yet the model does appear to be running out of steam, as a widespread sense of weariness keeps taking hold. A historic turning point for the internet?