The downfall of social media

Social media was always destined to become an enterprise dependent on user-generatd content for profit. The internet is designed to open avenues for anyone to make money -- but only because these companies realized they could make money off their users first.

In the beginning, when companies like YouTube began offering creators money in exchange for uploading content regularly to its platform, it all seemed too good to be true ... probably because it was. A lot of people started making money, which meant that everyone started making less money because these creator funds could only go so far.

And now we're seeing the downturn in quality of sites like X (Formerly Twitter) which offers money to paying subscribers who can generate large amounts of engagement. "Engagement farming," so to speak, is no longer just something mildly annoying that certain accounts do for so-called "clout." They're doing it for money. And a lot of users have come to see right through it.

Not that there is anything wrong with making money on the internet! I'm a content creator, and anytime I can generate even a small amount of income from my online presence is deeply appreciated.

But it now often feels as though the internet only exists to generate money -- either for companies or individual creators. Nothing feels genuine -- not that social media was ever wholly real in the first place. It makes social media feel hollow, pointless, and even more performative than it ever has before.

And yet we can't escape it. So many of us rely on social media for connection, for information (whether we should or not), and even for income. Many of us make a living off posting content online. It's no onger a game. It feels much more like a trap with no way out.