The State of My Social Media in 2025

It’s 2025 and my social media presence has never been more fractured. The online identity crisis of the modern social media landscape is not unique to me, I’m sure, but it is, absolutely, inarguably, annoying.

My social media experience started with Facebook in its humble beginnings, though I didn’t join until probably 2007/2008. I joined Twitter around that time, and then Instagram in 2011, where I primarily posted random photos of my life in art and design school.

In those early-mid years these platforms were pretty tame. Little-to-no advertising existed. They all showed you a linear, chronological time line of stuff from certain people that you followed. And their owners were largely inconsequential. It was nice!

But, that didn’t last.

The Beginning of the End #

In 2012, just a year after I joined the platform, Instagram was purchased by Facebook for a whopping $1 Billion! I remember thinking it was an odd choice at the time, but clearly the Zuck already had a longterm plan in mind. And boy, did it pay off. As of today Instagram has over 2 billion active monthly users.

Over the next few years Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all became increasingly political in nature. And it wasn’t just that I was seeing more politics on the platforms… The platforms themselves took on political identities. And everyone felt it. For a while it still felt fairly neutral. You could take part in these platforms without feeling too “icky.”

But, that didn’t last.

Your Data, Their Choices #

Next to Google, Facebook probably had the most data about any specific individual or group of individuals on the planet during the 2010s. But, they didn’t exactly keep that information to themselves, which led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal(s). Companies and political campaigns–even foreign governments–were using data from Facebook, provided by Facebook, to not just advertise to targeted groups of people, but to microtarget individuals in an effort to sway elections. The reaction when this came to light was, rightfully, strong.

Of course, Facebook took steps to better safeguard user data after that, but the damage to their images was done. I had, admittedly, barely touched Facebook for a couple of years at that point, but it was enough for me to delete my profile. It was an easy choice, and I happily carried on with just Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit on my phone.

But, that didn’t last.

The First Death of Twitter #

And the beginning of fragmentation.

In 2022, an insignificant man named Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 Billion. Now, Elon Musk is–to put it lightly–a polarizing character. I, along with many of the people I followed on Twitter, were not excited about this new ownership of a platform we loved. At the time, there weren’t many microblogging alternatives, but most seemed to look into a new player called Mastodon, which is where I went, as well. Now, though, there are several: X (Twitter), Mastodon, Bluesky, and Meta’s Threads are all similar in a lot of ways, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Because of this, if you used to be on Twitter and chose to go elsewhere, you had to make a choice. Either pick one, or pick them all. I picked one, Mastodon, and continued on with Instagram and Reddit. It wasn’t bad!

But, that didn’t last.

Reddit Goes Public #

In 2023 Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, announced that they would be discontinuing access to their APIs for third-party apps. People were not happy about that decision. Many users deleted their accounts, entire subreddits went dark temporarily in protest, and overall sentiment for the platform tanked. This all happened just a year before Reddit went pubic, and the platform has since, predictably, introduced more paid featured and ads.

Alternatives to Reddit include Hacker News or Lemmy, though I’m sure there’s more out there. Currently I use both Reddit and Lemmy, since Lemmy has not quite caught up in terms of numbers and quality.

Your Facts Aren’t My Facts #

Last, but certainly not least… Soon after the 2024 US election, Zuckerberg let his team–and the world–know that he was giving up on reality. Ok, fine, stop caring, but at least hire someone to… Damnit. Not only did he give up on reality, but he had to go and act like a bigot. A lot of people, myself included, were not big fans of this move (that’s putting it pretty lightly).

One of Meta’s largest platforms is Instagram. That little photo-sharing app I joined in 2011 has become a behemoth in social media, and something I use extensively. There are some recent alternatives that I’ve tried and enjoyed. Pixelfed is very similar and based on the same federated tech that Mastodon is, which is neat. Foto looks really clean and has a unique take on tags that’s pretty cool. Apparently, Bluesky is also getting their own alternative.

Sadly, none of these quite feel the same as Instagram, and many of the photographers I follow seem to be staying put, so while I’m giving Pixelfed an honest try, Instagram isn’t going anywhere for me.

Where I’m At #

So, here I am in 2025, and on my phone I have Instagram, Pixelfed, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, Reddit, and Lemmy… And it’s chaotic and overwhelming and I hate it. What do I do from here? Do I pick one and stick with it? Do I choose based on morals? Where the people I want to follow are going?

For now, I don’t think I can pick. I’m either too ingrained in an app, or there’s just a few people I really want to follow on them, or the user base is just bigger. None of them feel “right” anymore.

But man, I’m tired, and am really close to just throwing in the towel on social media altogether. Maybe this was all just an experiment, and maybe it failed.

Anyways go follow me on my socials. You can find them in the footer.