January 6, 2026
Bye feeds, hi friends?
Are we tired of social media once and for all? On the downfall of social media
From doomscroll to group chat: the internet’s messy breakup
TLDR: A writer says big social apps feel like noise, not community, and even alternatives like Mastodon and Bluesky feel empty. Commenters agree, ditching ad-heavy algorithms for private group chats, while a smaller crew defends Discord as the last cozy hangout—proof people want smaller, real connections.
Daniel asks the question everyone’s whispering: are we over social media? He ditched Twitter and Instagram, tried Mastodon and Bluesky, but says it felt like posting into the void. The comments erupted with nostalgia—ICQ, MSN, forums—when al_borland lamented that he used to talk to real people; now he’s “just talking to the internet.” His sweet eclipse meet-up with a 20-year forum friend was the wholesome subplot the thread needed.
Strongest take: people aren’t anti-social—they’re anti-ad and anti-algorithm. Johnneville wants smaller private group chats with friends he actually sees. lain says major platforms are now “bots and influencers screaming into the void.” Enter the counter-fandom: adzm insists “Discord is still great,” arguing micro-communities still thrive. Everdrive warns the endless “infinite recommendations” on YouTube mess with your brain regardless of the content.
The hot meme word is enshittification (Wikipedia), aka apps slowly turning into ad-packed junk; commenters joked the internet’s a mall food court where ragebait pays the rent. Nostalgia jokes flew: “bring back ICQ’s ‘uh-oh’!” and “forums were the last nice place.” Verdict: users crave cozy, ad-free corners, not the megaphone. But the spicy debate: can the “fediverse” (smaller, linked sites like Mastodon) fix it, or is it just another quiet room? For now, the crowd says log off the big stage and log into the living room.
Key Points
- •The author contrasts earlier internet communication tools (IM, IRC, VoIP, forums) with today’s consolidated social media platforms.
- •He argues commercialization has led to bubbles, hate speech, heavy advertising, misinformation, and revenue-driven ragebait, including AI-generated content.
- •Mastodon and the Fediverse were explored as open-source, decentralized alternatives with non-curated feeds.
- •Over time, the author perceived low engagement on Mastodon and experienced similar issues on Bluesky after leaving Twitter and Instagram.
- •The article references “enshittification,” citing Google Play as an example of platform power harming developers, and concludes with personal social media fatigue.