Will Social Media Disappear?
As much as it hurts to admit, it’s pretty unlikely that social media will disappear anytime soon. Studies and market trends show that social media is changing and growing, not fading away. Since social media was introduced, the number of people using social media has kept going up. Statista reports that by 2025, there will be around 4.41 billion social media users globally. With so many people on these platforms, it's hard to imagine them going away.
Social media is also a big player in the global economy, especially in advertising and e-commerce. These platforms make a lot of money and have a significant impact, which suggests they'll stick around and keep evolving rather than disappearing.
On top of that, social media is getting more and more integrated with new technologies like AI, augmented reality, and virtual reality. This means social media will likely become even more immersive and a bigger part of our daily lives. As tech keeps advancing, social media adapts, making it hard to see it going obsolete.
Academic research also backs this up. Experts in media studies and communication say that while specific social media platforms might come and go, the basic human need for connection and interaction remains the same. As long as people want to connect, some form of social media will probably exist to meet that need.
So for now, it doesn’t seem like social media isn't going anywhere. It’s expected to keep growing and changing with new technology and user habits. Even if the platforms and how we use them evolve, social media as a concept is deeply embedded in how we communicate and interact today. It’s up to us to use this tool wisely, and not let it control us in the future. We must remind ourselves to stop the loop when we’re getting sucked into bad cycles (we recommend getting a Stop the Loop Hoodie to keep that reminder close to heart).
References
Statista. "Number of social media users worldwide from 2017 to 2025." Statista, 2021Clement, J. "Number of social network users worldwide from 2017 to 2025." Statista, 2020Van Dijck, J. The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media. Oxford University Press, 2013.
