Social media could experience even greater upheavals in 2023
Although it is unlikely that anyone would have predicted Elon Musk becoming the owner of Twitter one year ago, they did eventually find someone to take over. It was a great year for social media in 2022. Donald Trump launched Truth Social and there were new calls to ban TikTok. A Twitter alternative wasn’t yet available.
There could be more social media disruptions in 2023. But, the one thing that is certain is that these platforms will be continued to be used daily by young people.
Wendy Mei from Playsee, Head of Product and Strategy at the social media platform Playsee said that Gen Z would continue to influence the social media landscape. “Their desire for authenticity and authenticity will drive major transformative changes in the industry,” she added.
The Future of Services
Gen Z users of social media will continue to desire accurate representations and will therefore gravitate toward authentic and less-curated content.
“Old platforms that are so entrenched with unrealistically perfect ideologies will be unable to satisfy this generation; the measurable shift in preferences has and will continue to lead to a significant discontent among some of the major players in the space – creating room for new platforms that promote authenticity,” added Mei. As with every industry, platforms will fail to survive the year. It’s our job to make sure that they don’t.
Mei suggests that users could find ways to incorporate social media in their daily lives, to fulfill their desire to be connected and feel part of their community.
The downward spiral of Twitter will continue
Already, Elon Musk seems to be feeling a little “buyer’s regret” after his purchase of Twitter for $44 billion. The social media platform’s policies are not likely to benefit it. At least, not for the near term.
Charles King, a technology analyst at Pund-IT said that Twitter’s downward spiral will not stop as long Elon Musk continues to engage with critics and stay in the public eye. It is also possible that Twitter may try to engage a known partner (or partners) in order to revamp its troubled areas, such as its advertising agency.
Twitter may soon be gone.
Rob Enderle (technology analyst, Enderle Group) stated that “the growing number of viable competitors, Musk’s mismanagement and employee litigation should see it solidly within the MySpace category by the year-end.”
Meta Problems
Twitter will not be the only social network that wants to get past its problems in 2022. Many at Facebook parent Meta want to get past the problems of last year. However, it is unclear how exactly this will be achieved.
Enderle observed that “the Metaverse social networking experiment will continue failing until technology meets expectations,” which is likely to be towards the end the decade.
King said that reports that Meta might split in two companies, with one focused on Facebook and another on the metaverse, are probable to become true. While this should please large institutional investors and shareholders, it will not help Mark Z’s vision for the commercial metaverse get traction.
TikTok to Be Banned in the Real World?
At this point, it is more likely a matter of when – not if – the Chinese-owned TikTok will see a widespread ban in the United States. Already, many states have already banned video-sharing apps on their government devices. And just last week the House of Representatives also ban it from its employees’ phones.
The company might still be able to perform well for the short-term.
Lon Safko (tech entrepreneur), author of “TikTok” said that the platform is one that will experience continued growth in members. Social Media Bible. “It’s amazing to me Vine didn’t succeed, but TikTok took off like wildfire. A’short form video’ is a great way to communicate. This is despite the fact that our attention spans have fallen below those of goldfish. YouTube now offers its own version of TikTok-type short-form videos.
TikTok may therefore continue to tick.
King said that TikTok’s ban from the U.S., and certain state government-owned smartphones and other devices was unlikely to stop its popularity among young people as well advertisers who are focusing on these audiences. Their users haven’t been affected by the other known dangers that social media platforms pose, such as false information spreading and providing conduits for extremist speech.
Influence is a thing you can’t lose
2022 may have been the last big year for influencers – even as nearly a quarter of Gen-Z said in a survey last year that their ideal job would be an influencer. It is unlikely that the market will support this, so those who don’t succeed are more likely to be distracted by those who do.
Safko stated that Influencer Marketing has been more challenging in 2022 due to the number of people who want to be an influencer. Their interest in other products has fallen to almost zero thanks to successful influencers.”
In addition, almost all social media platforms are now at saturation. They will need to be supported in order to preserve shareholder value.
Safko said, “They all face the constant threat of their Board of Directors increasing revenue and membership activity plummeting.” While social media will be used, it will require a tremendous amount of money and effort to achieve marginal results. The bluebirds are still there, and people who become influential more naturally than they plan will be.
There will always be old problems
It is generally agreed that 2023 will see a lot of changes, even though the nation continues to be divided.
As we move into the next election cycle, platforms will continue to be a safe and easy political target. AI will appear more frequently in the segment. Though most of them will focus on scamming users but others will encourage moderation and improve engagement,” Enderle said.
This doesn’t mean that everything is going to change in the coming year. It is likely that some of the things that worked in the past will continue to work.
Safko pointed out that hookup apps are gaining popularity. Popular apps like OkCupid (Hinge), Tinder, Tinder and Grindr are increasing in popularity.”
