Is it the era of the great digital retreat? Ofcom’s latest report concludes so.
Ofcom recently conducted a survey across UK social media users and noticed a strange dip. Only 49% of the UK adults actually post, share or even comment on social media. That’s a 61% decline since 2024.
The reason, one can assume, is the panopticon effect. Social media was always thought be a space for the ‘now’- the ‘present.’ But if one hasn’t noticed, it’s now used as a record of our past and present followings.
You can also call this: archive anxiety. It’s the fear that a single version of ‘you’ will be used against you today. The migration to more ephemeral media isn’t sudden. People would rather opt for posting on Instagram stories than make grid posts.
But another reason- adults are migrating towards more-video oriented content, such as Reels and TikTok.
Empty consumption over active creation- users merely wish to be passive on-lookers. And scrolling video (with infinite scroll loop) feeds into a dopamine hit that creating the content doesn’t fill.
Video-centric feeds have turned social media into more of cinema- one that’s observed not actively interacted with. But what use is an interaction that’s majorly AI-driven? The study also asserts that over 54% of UK adults leverage AI for conversation.
Because it’s the path of least resistance. The friendship is low-stakes and the AI is more of a one-sided consultant than a friend that requires mutual effort.
Bottom line? Humans are retreating from the chaotic complexities of ‘human’ social media- inching more and more towards a controlled comfort of AI dialogue. And honestly, more than half of them truly hold the belief that social media isn’t good for their mental health.
Their retreat is backed by some compelling arguments. 89% still use the platforms even though they believe its harmful- that’s the hold social media has built on users. That’s the psychological trap that big tech is counting on, to keep users hooked to these echo-chambers.
