From Friends to Fads: How Social Media Became a Scroll-Fest of Trends

Social media has changed a lot over the past few years. It used to be a place where people would connect with friends, share photos, and talk about their lives. Now, platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are more focused on entertaining users with short videos and professional content. The main goal for these companies is to keep people on their apps for as long as possible, so they can show more ads and make more money.

Take Aurélia, for example. She lives near Paris and enjoys relaxing in her garden while scrolling through Instagram. She follows an interior designer she likes and sees lots of animal videos because she often clicks on them. She also gets ads for things like robot-vacuum cleaners and bed linen. However, she rarely sees posts from her friends anymore, even though she has almost 200 friends on Instagram. She has stopped posting much herself because she feels like nobody sees her posts.

This trend is even more noticeable among younger users. Kylian, a 16-year-old training to be a chef, spends a lot of time on TikTok and YouTube watching videos made by people he does not know. He does not post anything because he is shy and prefers to keep his reactions to himself. Lucie, also 16, finds videos from content creators more interesting than posts from her friends. She only posts stories that disappear after 24 hours.

Statistics show that fewer people are actively posting on social media. In France, almost half of users are only active occasionally. In the UK, the number of people posting dropped from 61 percent to 49 percent in one year. In the US, only 33 percent of users post daily, while 57 percent use social media for entertainment every day.

Some people are becoming more careful about what they share online. Vanessa Lalo, a psychologist who studies online behavior, says that people are more aware that what they post stays online forever. Some do not want to risk getting negative comments or feel like their posts are not as good as professional content. Instead, people are posting different things in different places. On TikTok, for example, young people often post funny parodies or remixes instead of personal updates.

Personal sharing has moved to more private spaces, like WhatsApp or private groups on Instagram and Snapchat. These places feel more intimate and have fewer ads and influencer content. Social media is splitting into two parts: big platforms for entertainment and discovery, and private apps for real social interaction.

The technology behind these platforms is also changing. TikTok was one of the first to use an algorithm that quickly learns what you like and fills your feed with similar content. Now, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, uses artificial intelligence to recommend content from people you do not follow. The algorithm does not care if the content is from a friend, a brand, or a professional creator.

This shift means that small businesses have to work harder to get noticed. They need to create interesting stories, strong visuals, or behind-the-scenes videos to stand out. Business owners now have to be presenters, editors, and trend spotters, as well as run their businesses.

Social media is becoming more like television, but it adapts to your interests. You give the platform information about yourself, and in return, it shows you content and ads that match your preferences. This business model is working well, with global social media ad revenue expected to reach 317 billion dollars in 2026. Meta's ad sales have already increased by 22 percent in one year.

Advertisers can target their ads very precisely, choosing who sees them based on age, location, and interests. The price depends on how many people see the ad and how specific the target audience is.

Some people wonder if there will be a backlash. Many users still want to see how their friends react to their posts, but the main reason people use social media now is for entertainment. Even though some people are posting less, the total number of users and the time spent on these apps is still growing, especially among young people.

For those who miss the old days of social media, there are still ways to see more posts from friends and family, but most people do not use these options. Social media is evolving, and it is now more about watching and less about sharing personal moments.