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Have Americans Become Sick of Social Media?
More than a decade ago, when social media grew from a niche phenomenon for the tech-savvy to a mainstream fixture in the life of the entire wired world, there was something exciting about it. It allowed users to reconnect with old acquaintances on a scale never before possible. It put users in contact with others in parts of the country and the world they had never visited. It seemed, by and large, like a good thing.
That enthusiasm has waned over the years and a new survey shows that Americans are not thrilled with social media. If those feelings affect how people communicate, it could also alter how they shop.
Only 38 percent of Americans believe that the invention of social media was a good thing, according to a YouGov survey. Twenty-nine percent believe that it has had an overall negative impact. Those who believe it has had a negative impact skew older with 40 percent of 56-to-75-year-olds agreeing that social media has been bad for humanity. Only 18 percent of 15-to 25-year-olds share that view. Fifty-seven percent believe that the social media industry requires more regulation.
People are much more positive about the invention of the Internet (64 percent say it is good for humanity) and the smartphone (62 percent say likewise).
While surveys have shown perspectives on social media skewing negative for a few years, some sources say that retailers stand more to gain than ever from a solid social strategy, as a long-anticipated boom in “social commerce” appears to be in the offing.
A recent post by McKinsey anticipates that transactions completed through social media sites and apps, which in 2021 pulled in U.S. sales of $37 billion, will jump to $80 billion by 2025. Exemplifying the phenomenon, McKinsey cited an Econsultancy list that described an instance of a company that makes a week’s worth of its store revenue in a single TikTok livestream.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you think customers are approaching a tipping point where they step away from social media or greatly reduce their usage of it? What does that mean for retailer/marketing strategies and the future of the anticipated growth of “social commerce”?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
John Lietsch
Chief Operating Officer, Bloo Kanoo
Paula Rosenblum
Co-founder, RSR Research
The positive financial impact of well-executed social media programs is undeniable, and consequently it will remain a key element of retailers’ marketing efforts. And while I don’t believe social platforms have too much to worry about, I agree that people are becoming exhausted by the torrent of social media posts, pings and efforts for engagement. Retailers must continue to keep their foot on the gas when it comes to social media, but the times are changing.
I think people are more conscious about how they use social media — especially in terms of avoiding excess negativity and conflict, which seem to be getting worse. However it doesn’t follow that people are ditching social media entirely. For brands this just means thinking more carefully about how and where to engage with people on social and ensuring messaging is appropriate and positive.
Unfortunately, Neil Saunders, I believe that what you have stated is wishful thinking on your part (and on mine, too), but we are not there–yet.
In a word, yes. So many of the sites have turned into political battlegrounds. It’s exhausting.
One can hope that people are stepping away from or dramatically reducing their unhealthy and negative use of social media. After all, the medium is not necessarily the problem–it is our use of it. I don’t believe social media will cease to exist and regardless of its future, it currently entertains a captive and profitable audience. That means marketers must maintain a presence on social media but alter or update their strategies as they have learned to do across all channels.
Social media networks certainly make it easy for people to connect, communicate and collaborate, but they are also destroying any sense of truth. And it seems they may be a portal to international espionage. Oh, and they spawned influencers. So, on the whole, I’d say they have done far more harm than good. I believe most people of an age to have meaningful purchasing power get that. And as such, I suspect the growth of actual shopping/purchasing on social media will be muted.
Funny you should mention this! We just did a study asking consumers what tech they wanted to see in store and shop with and social media scored the lowest of 12 choices, across all age groups (although over 60 was the lowest by far). Those results tell me the answer to your question is YES.
In general, social media has become commercialized to the extent that people do not feel it is authentic anymore. While it resonates with brands and retailers, who want to connect with consumers in real-time and make a sale, it turns the user off who is looking for a real connection. Can social media site serve dual purposes–be a sales channel and still fulfill the “social” connection? I guess that is up to the user and their social media choices. Twitter is trying to be a one-stop shop for everything. Take note.
I don’t know if “customers are reaching a tipping point where they step away from social media” but I hope so. Seldom have I seen a more useless, and now dangerous, set of platforms propped up by technology. Along with the universal acceptance of denim jeans as acceptable dress for most occasions, social media sites and apps are deteriorating the intellectual fiber and the propriety of society. Nobody will miss them after they are gone.
Social media offered a digital lifeline during the pandemic, permanently shaping our habits. Now that we have more online and offline stimuli competing for our attention, social media use is taking a hit.
Vibrant communities, targeted content and trusted influencers are key factors for success in social commerce.
I personally don’t want to step away as much as I want to figure out how to better personalize my feed. Oh, and avoid the barrage of ads that seem to have accelerated hugely in the last six to 12 months. I totally understand that free isn’t free, and that all these free apps have to get paid for somehow, but wow, I’m drowning in random ads that have nothing to do with my life. Nevermind the reminder emails and ads about a product I bought six months ago, asking if I am still interested.
I read a lot of very insightful stuff on social media. It’s all about filtering, while still including opposing points of view.
I can’t speak for all Americans but I can tell you that I am over social media. I post occasionally and rarely look through my personal feeds. I just don’t care what you ate for dinner. #sorrynotsorry
Still, many of the independent retailers we work with depend on social media to keep close to customers. Maintaining feeds, running ads, and daily/weekly Facebook Live broadcasts have become part of the cost of doing business.
Social media will continue to have its place and is not dying. Yes people are more careful about how they use it and interact with it but it is too much a part of our lives now for it to go away. What retailers need to be aware of is that people are getting exhausted by too much activity. Retailers need to be more careful about how they target people and how much they send out. Just like with brick-and-mortar retail, the end is not yet here–don’t believe all the statistics and newspaper headlines.
When people cannot even walk a few steps without looking down at their phones for that instant gratification of a response to what they posted, its a problem. We have become slaves to our phones and zombies whereas face-to-face interaction has become secondary at best. Is social media to blame? Absolutely yes. As others have mentioned, retailers cannot ignore social media, but those that use it in a more thoughtful and non-intrusive way will win with consumers.
The blinders are off, at least. Most people don’t blindly follow social media without questioning what they see. The potential for social commerce is still there, though, and hasn’t begun to reach its potential.
People have become exhausted with the negative connotations in so many social media posts as they overwhelm everyone’s feeds. Social media algorithms have all determined that those negative posts incite a stronger emotional response from users and that causes users to engage more and stay on-platform longer. The net result? Discontent with the platforms is growing. However retailers are not (hopefully!) participating in these posts and may actually become more of an escape from all that negativity. The potential for growing social commerce is very real, and it may continue growing as a result of people trying to stay away from those negative posts in their feeds. The platforms still do not seem to have found the right formula for enabling this in a friction-free manner for consumers, so there is still work to be done for most users to adopt it regularly, but it is coming and retailers need to watch this closely and strengthen their social commerce strategies.
There’s a lot for consumers to be sick of when it comes to social media. The social media channels that consumers engage with today are not the same friendly open forums for public discourse they once were. Toxicity aside, between boredom with the content and trying to keep track of where Elon Musk is taking Twitter to watching Mark Zuckerberg and others testify yet again about how his company violated the privacy of their users, there are a lot of reasons consumers are disengaging.
I also believe there’s a case to be made that over-monetization of these platforms is a problem for consumers as they are tired of scrolling through endless ads interspersed with content.
I am all for social media if it is social. I am still in communication with many of my students from a decade ago, each living in a different part of the world. I am still connecting with high school buddies whose names take me back 50 years.
The most stimulating part of my social media experience is discussions in various groups (I include commenting on RetailWire in that). As my BrainTrust colleagues may recognize, I am opinionated. Hopefully my comments stimulate others’ thinking. Their comments stimulate my thinking.
What I am tired of is the commercialized social media. My fuse is very short when I am interrupted by an ad of one sort or another. It is interruptive and annoying. Can I pay a fee and avoid them altogether?
Younger people are not sick of social media, but more older people are tuning out–I know I am.
That all depends on which customers you are talking about. If your target market is customers over say 60, the answer may be a qualified yes. If your market is say 18 to 30 year olds, I wouldn’t bet the farm on social media’s collapse.
Any generic question about “social media” is, for the most part, fairly meaningless to begin with. Once upon a time Myspace was the evil empire of social media, but it was knocked out by Facebook, which started losing to Instagram, which started losing to TikTok, which started losing to BeReal, which started — well — you get the idea.
The point is that “social media” is not a monolith, and shouldn’t be thought of as one. Also, we have yet to see next-gen social media–imagine a VR social network. You may not be able to, but I’m guessing the folks at Meta are thinking about it. Sure Boomers and Generation Xers hate all the agita and polarization social media creates but — for better or worse — they didn’t grow up with social media as an installed part of their personal infrastructure like many Millennials and Gen Zers have.
I’m tired of paying utility bills, but I’m not ready to start living without electricity. As to the future of social commerce, we ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
Social media platforms are still viable communication channels. Growth and adoption may have slowed, but not because people are sick and tired of it. The majority of the population uses it. New users are mostly very young children. That’s where the growth is. Certain platforms have lost their “luster,” while others stay strong and even grow. TikTok is still hot and growing. Twitter’s future is questionable. For business, LinkedIn continues to be a strong social channel.
Yes, certain platforms will decline, and new ones will start. Look at the changes over the years. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/rise-and-fall-of-social-media-platforms/
I’ve rethought my own use of social media the past months and believe others are doing/will do the same. Retailers and brands will need to continue to use social channels, but with a specific purpose and value for consumers to engage.
It’s fair to say that given the polarization of society in general, and the seeming relentless encouragement of it by mainstream media, we are all feeling heightened levels of social media fatigue. I’ve had several friends and family members mention their intentional reduction in how much time they are engaging on social media as compared to six months or a year ago which, although anecdotal, points to a growing trend.
While customers are consistent in perceiving that social media is not healthy in surveys, actual consumer behavior suggests that social media shopping acceptance appears to be growing. The feedback that social media is not healthy stems from political and teenage social interactions, which are widely perceived to be harmful. The use of social media for commerce falls outside of those categories and seems to be on a strong growth trajectory. Consumers still desire convenience, information and access and social commerce seems like it meets those requirements.
Nope. Social media is here to stay and as younger generations replace older, it will strengthen in use, not deteriorate. That said, specific platforms will come and go and how the channels are used may shift, but it’s not going away.
In my opinion, people aren’t sick of social media yet. Some users may question the usefulness of social media from time to time, but to think that people are giving it up is absurd. In fact, the use of social media has only skyrocketed.
Social media emerged during the digital era and has progressed at an incredibly rapid pace, exceeding our capacity to fully comprehend and adapt to it. If a retailer’s approach to interacting with customers on social media is ineffective, it suggests that the retailer is struggling to keep pace with the ongoing evolution of social media.
Retailers who understand contemporary social media dynamics will be able to better engage with today’s customers and, as a result, have a greater influence in the market.