When it comes to social media, the clue is in the title. My generation joined Facebook circa 2006 with the ambition of staying connected with friends, sharing photos of nights out and throwing the odd sheep at each other (I guess you had to be there). The purpose of these platforms was clear; we wanted a way to be in touch. A platform to share jokes, stories and pictures, even when we weren’t physically all together. It was the ultimate group hang and one we could join from anywhere. It was fun, it was light, it was ultimately social. Then it changed.
The “social” media of today looks very different. We no longer use these platforms to connect with people we know. In fact, we’re unlikely to see anyone we know at all, with less than one in five posts coming from users we recognise. Instead, at least one in every three posts will be from an influencer or advertiser. We are not being social, we are being sold to and it’s becoming evident that we’ve had enough.
Whilst the algorithm has worked hard to ensure that we are stay enraged to stay engaged, it didn’t take into account that, in today’s increasingly hectic world, many of us are seeking peace. We used to worry about comparison and people would joke about hate-liking a friend’s holiday post (whilst sat green-with-envy at work), but nowadays you would be hard pushed to see that friend’s post in the first place. Instead, you will be bombarded with posts from advertisers and influencers, offering you products that you don’t need or want. We are continually creeped out by being spied on and seeing a conversation with a partner play out on screen in the form of related adverts or products. Whilst Big Tech was busy making sure that the platforms were primed to optimise targeted selling and keep us scrolling, they forgot to take into account that we don’t want to be sold at, shouted at or continually upset.
Whereas at one time, social media was the unrealistic nirvana that we could all escape to, now we are beginning to realise that the real world is far nicer than we’ve been (algorithmically) led to believe and we want to spend more time there. When we connect in real life we have meaningful, engaging and balanced conversations, which is so much more nourishing for the soul, than witnessing empty chat between bots purely designed to upset us.
Damage done
With wider society becoming increasingly aware of how damaging social media and continual screen time is for our mental health, we have also realised that these objects come with an off switch. Whilst tech companies have thrown absolutely everything at making these platforms as addictive as possible, a few moments away from them is enough to remember what it is to be human, to connect in real life and to be fulfilled with actual social connection.
Far fewer people are posting online now and we are seeing a trend of ‘posting zero’ where people view social media platforms as they do television shows. They stream the video content, whilst posting little to nothing of their own lives. As Kyle Chayka, author of ‘Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture’, says in an interview we learnt some harsh lessons from 2010 onwards about viral moments and public embarrassments which coincided with a loss of purpose in posting. Kyle asks ‘Why post your selfies if you don’t get attention for it, you can’t reach your friends and you’re just competing with all of this remote, abstracted garbage out there?’
When everything becomes content, we will act as viewers, not creators and stop posting our own lives, because it isn’t worth our time.
Unless you are swimming in the highly competitive waters of professional influencing, made even more complex with the introduction of AI, there isn’t really any incentive to post or engage. It simply isn’t worth the effort and, as people increasingly feel the pressures of the real world, reasons to create content fodder, for free, for multi-billion-dollar platforms, simply don’t exist.
So, does this spell the end of social media? Research would suggest yes, or at the very least, a significant shift. Fewer people are posting because they are far more aware of the damage to their mental health and we are tired of the divisive thread that runs through every platform, causing horrific real-world consequences. We still want social media, but we want it to be social in the truest sense. We joined these platforms to see what the people we love (but cannot see regularly in real life) are up to and to stay connected. As these platforms continue to treat us, and our lives, as commodities to manipulate, sell to and divide, it appears as though we have had enough.
We still seek social connection with each other, but we are doing this privately, away from platforms. 2026 was the year that many declared they were embracing analogue, the result being more and more real-life soulful connection. If social media is the addictive junk food we’ve feasted on for two decades, we have now realised that nourishment is what we need to survive.
It may not be the end per se. These platforms are huge and will take time to fully dismantle. However, it is a significant shift and we all need to be paying attention. It appears that the algorithm, designed to keep us trapped in a social media cycle forever, may just have pushed us back out into the real world, and we’re rediscovering how much we like it.
Dr Stephanie Fitzgerald is an experienced Clinical Psychologist and Health and Wellbeing Consultant. Stephanie is passionate about workplace wellbeing and strongly believes everyone can and should be happy at work. Stephanie supports companies across all sectors to keep their employees happy, healthy, safe and engaged. Follow her on Instagram @workplace_wellbeing
May 22, 2026
Has the algorithm pushed us too far?
by Stephanie Fitzgerald • Business, Comment, Wellbeing
The “social” media of today looks very different. We no longer use these platforms to connect with people we know. In fact, we’re unlikely to see anyone we know at all, with less than one in five posts coming from users we recognise. Instead, at least one in every three posts will be from an influencer or advertiser. We are not being social, we are being sold to and it’s becoming evident that we’ve had enough.
Whilst the algorithm has worked hard to ensure that we are stay enraged to stay engaged, it didn’t take into account that, in today’s increasingly hectic world, many of us are seeking peace. We used to worry about comparison and people would joke about hate-liking a friend’s holiday post (whilst sat green-with-envy at work), but nowadays you would be hard pushed to see that friend’s post in the first place. Instead, you will be bombarded with posts from advertisers and influencers, offering you products that you don’t need or want. We are continually creeped out by being spied on and seeing a conversation with a partner play out on screen in the form of related adverts or products. Whilst Big Tech was busy making sure that the platforms were primed to optimise targeted selling and keep us scrolling, they forgot to take into account that we don’t want to be sold at, shouted at or continually upset.
Whereas at one time, social media was the unrealistic nirvana that we could all escape to, now we are beginning to realise that the real world is far nicer than we’ve been (algorithmically) led to believe and we want to spend more time there. When we connect in real life we have meaningful, engaging and balanced conversations, which is so much more nourishing for the soul, than witnessing empty chat between bots purely designed to upset us.
Damage done
With wider society becoming increasingly aware of how damaging social media and continual screen time is for our mental health, we have also realised that these objects come with an off switch. Whilst tech companies have thrown absolutely everything at making these platforms as addictive as possible, a few moments away from them is enough to remember what it is to be human, to connect in real life and to be fulfilled with actual social connection.
Far fewer people are posting online now and we are seeing a trend of ‘posting zero’ where people view social media platforms as they do television shows. They stream the video content, whilst posting little to nothing of their own lives. As Kyle Chayka, author of ‘Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture’, says in an interview we learnt some harsh lessons from 2010 onwards about viral moments and public embarrassments which coincided with a loss of purpose in posting. Kyle asks ‘Why post your selfies if you don’t get attention for it, you can’t reach your friends and you’re just competing with all of this remote, abstracted garbage out there?’
When everything becomes content, we will act as viewers, not creators and stop posting our own lives, because it isn’t worth our time.
Unless you are swimming in the highly competitive waters of professional influencing, made even more complex with the introduction of AI, there isn’t really any incentive to post or engage. It simply isn’t worth the effort and, as people increasingly feel the pressures of the real world, reasons to create content fodder, for free, for multi-billion-dollar platforms, simply don’t exist.
So, does this spell the end of social media? Research would suggest yes, or at the very least, a significant shift. Fewer people are posting because they are far more aware of the damage to their mental health and we are tired of the divisive thread that runs through every platform, causing horrific real-world consequences. We still want social media, but we want it to be social in the truest sense. We joined these platforms to see what the people we love (but cannot see regularly in real life) are up to and to stay connected. As these platforms continue to treat us, and our lives, as commodities to manipulate, sell to and divide, it appears as though we have had enough.
We still seek social connection with each other, but we are doing this privately, away from platforms. 2026 was the year that many declared they were embracing analogue, the result being more and more real-life soulful connection. If social media is the addictive junk food we’ve feasted on for two decades, we have now realised that nourishment is what we need to survive.
It may not be the end per se. These platforms are huge and will take time to fully dismantle. However, it is a significant shift and we all need to be paying attention. It appears that the algorithm, designed to keep us trapped in a social media cycle forever, may just have pushed us back out into the real world, and we’re rediscovering how much we like it.
Dr Stephanie Fitzgerald is an experienced Clinical Psychologist and Health and Wellbeing Consultant. Stephanie is passionate about workplace wellbeing and strongly believes everyone can and should be happy at work. Stephanie supports companies across all sectors to keep their employees happy, healthy, safe and engaged. Follow her on Instagram @workplace_wellbeing