The “New” Social Media

We have become too comfortable with social media as we know it.

1. Twitter is days away from crashing.
2. Popular media is increasingly ad-centered.
3. Social media addiction is rampant and completely unaddressed.

With this in mind, whispers of a new type of media have begun. What does the future of social media have in store for us? Will it matter with the metaverse looming in the distance? Those questions aside, let’s see what alternatives are out there right now.

Shuffling it Up

Pinterest has created a new app, Shuffles, which allows users to create collages. Like Pinterest was in the beginning, Shuffles is invite-only for these first few months of launch. I found an invite code after perusing Reddit forms for about 20 minutes.

Immediately I found such a safe and welcoming community of Swifties, 90s Rom-Com fans, and general cozy vibes. I quickly picked up the app’s shortcuts and tools and found hashtags that helped inspire me to create more. What is unique about Shuffles, is the representation of the female gaze in the content. I would say this is a side effect of the invite-only community. Users have invited people they trust and thus can create more authentically.

Shuffles Gallery

Like I said, lots of Swifties on Shuffles rn. I will say, looking at these on the platform really brings them to life with various animation effects vs sharing them from Pinterest.

BeReal

Twitter Alternatives

YikYak was popular back in 2013 when it first launched and since relaunching in 2021 it has regained a significant following, especially in college/university communities. YikYak is perfect for bringing location-centric communities together like a college or university, but since graduating and moving I do not feel part of my new “herd.”

Enter Mastodon. This decentralized open-source platform is seeing a massive migration spike with the Twitter restructuring (if we are being generous). However, because of the decentralized nature of the platform, you have to trust a stranger with your data.

This may not phase new users, as digital privacy is sadly a laughable topic. Still, it’s one thing to trust a company of qualified engineers with your data vs a random server out there. Nevertheless, a community built and maintained by the community is intriguing, and ultimately seems like a great way to connect with people of shared interests. You first join a smaller server and get content from your “local” community, and then can see feeds from hashtags from across the platform.

Why TikTok Continues to Reign Supreme

TikTok relies on the addictive nature of doomscrolling that we have become accustomed to on Instagram and Facebook. Tiktok’s endless content is something BeReal and YikYak can’t compete with, and yet it continues to maintain some level of authentic among smaller creators.

Shuffles could explode, but for now, it feels flat. With such a small community, there is little engagement between Shufflers. Without humor or knowledge sharing mixed in, it is more of a way to quickly share art vs commentary or interactions. This could help Instagram users who have felt abandoned by the platform’s pivot to shopping.

I can see Mastodon becoming mainstream now that Twitter has been unseated but it still won’t be a direct competitor to TikTok’s video forward platform. For now, the best way to stay connected with your friends is just using the most basic text group chat, while using these platforms as places to get content to connect over. The cries for more authentic connection can’t be met on the current social media structures because connection relies on active work and social media is too passive to actually be social. Good luck out there girlies 💖