The Mall-ification of Social: Why Some Users Feel Less Sticky-and What Brands Should Do Now
A tech writer’s attempt to reboard the social train in 2025 reads like a tour of platform priorities: more ads in the feed, more shoppable hooks in short-form, and more AI-made filler elbowing for attention. Instagram delivers a quick hit of real-life posts before pivoting to sponsored slots and creator promos. TikTok doubles down on commerce. YouTube Shorts is crowded with low-effort, auto-generated clips. The result for at least some users: less perceived connection, less time spent, and an easier exit from the scroll. The key takeaway here isn’t that social is dying-Instagram is larger than ever-but that the experience is noisier, more transactional, and, for a slice of users, less compelling.
What this means for creators and brands: competition inside the feed is now as much about ad density and AI churn as it is about other human accounts. Winning attention requires sharper utility, clearer value, and signals of authenticity that don’t read as programmatic. Worth noting for brands: communities that still feel “human”-think Reddit-are thriving on vigilant moderation and relevance. If you show up there, bring expertise, transparency, and resources for the specific sub’s needs; low-context promos will be downvoted into oblivion. On short-form, resist the temptation to chase every shoppable trend. Lead with substance (education, demos, social proof), then layer commerce. If AI assists your pipeline, label it and keep human texture visible-behind-the-scenes, real voices, responsive comments.
The bigger picture: platform incentives are unlikely to de-monetize. So adapt your mix. Diversify toward channels you can control (email, community hubs, owned video) and toward formats where depth still earns dwell (longer YouTube, newsletters, live Q&A). Measure creative not only by CTR but by negative signals-hides, unsubscribes, watch abandonment. Finally, segment your social portfolio by job: discovery on ad-heavy feeds, trust-building in moderated spaces, conversion in owned environments. The attention market didn’t shrink; it just got pricier. Plan for higher creative bar, tighter targeting, and a clearer reason to be in the feed-every time.