I believe I've mentioned before since I became a Weight Watcher leader, after losing 50+ lbs, & keeping it off for over 25 yrs now, I've followed the Meditteranean diet. Good stuff.
& I just finished reading this:
Social Media on the Wane
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Social Media on the Wane
The UK Financial Times paper commissioned a global survey to find out what’s going on with social media use— with “social media” meaning Facebook, TikTok, Twitter/X, Threads, YouTube, and so on. The study finds that social media outlets appear to be losing their grip on the public.
Online denizens from around the world are spending about 10 percent less time surfing social media than in 2022, when social media use crested.
From the article:
In many ways, Meta and OpenAI’s new platforms (AI-generated content is already rife on TikTok and YouTube) are a fitting endpoint for social media’s warped evolution from a place where people swapped updates with friends and family, to one with less and less human-to-human interaction. We have now witnessed the transformation of social media into anti-social media with the progressive disappearance of most people from active participation on the platforms and the steady displacement of real-world interactions by scrolling.
Additional data from GWI trace the shift. The shares of people who report using social platforms to stay in touch with their friends, express themselves or meet new people have fallen by more than a quarter since 2014. Meanwhile, reflexively opening the apps to fill up spare time has risen, reflecting a broader pernicious shift from mindful to mindless browsing.
Read the whole thing.
They argue that online people are beginning to grow aware of being manipulated for clicks and doom-scrolling—and are beginning to resent it. But the kicker comes at the end: North American users were still holding out against the global trend, as addicted to social media as ever.
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I was curious about why the difference w/ the US, so used AI:
I used AI to ask the possibility of why:
Greater regulation and enforcement outside the US
The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA): This law, which tech companies must comply with, has led to significant changes in online platforms within the EU. As a result, companies are forbidden from targeting minors with personalized advertising and can face fines of up to 6% of their worldwide revenues for violations.
China's strict laws: China has implemented cybersecurity and minor protection laws that restrict online content for children and impose daily time limits on internet usage.
Active government intervention: Other countries, like Sweden, have advised against screen time for young children and set limits for older youth, based on research into negative effects on health and sleep. France, Finland, and England have also implemented restrictions in schools, with some students reporting better focus as a result.
I believe I've mentioned before since I became a Weight Watcher leader, after losing 50+ lbs, & keeping it off for over 25 yrs now, I've followed the Meditteranean diet. Good stuff.
& I just finished reading this:
Social Media on the Wane
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Social Media on the Wane
The UK Financial Times paper commissioned a global survey to find out what’s going on with social media use— with “social media” meaning Facebook, TikTok, Twitter/X, Threads, YouTube, and so on. The study finds that social media outlets appear to be losing their grip on the public.
Online denizens from around the world are spending about 10 percent less time surfing social media than in 2022, when social media use crested.
From the article:
In many ways, Meta and OpenAI’s new platforms (AI-generated content is already rife on TikTok and YouTube) are a fitting endpoint for social media’s warped evolution from a place where people swapped updates with friends and family, to one with less and less human-to-human interaction. We have now witnessed the transformation of social media into anti-social media with the progressive disappearance of most people from active participation on the platforms and the steady displacement of real-world interactions by scrolling.
Additional data from GWI trace the shift. The shares of people who report using social platforms to stay in touch with their friends, express themselves or meet new people have fallen by more than a quarter since 2014. Meanwhile, reflexively opening the apps to fill up spare time has risen, reflecting a broader pernicious shift from mindful to mindless browsing.
Read the whole thing.
They argue that online people are beginning to grow aware of being manipulated for clicks and doom-scrolling—and are beginning to resent it. But the kicker comes at the end: North American users were still holding out against the global trend, as addicted to social media as ever.
---
I was curious about why the difference w/ the US, so used AI:
I used AI to ask the possibility of why:
Greater regulation and enforcement outside the US
The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA): This law, which tech companies must comply with, has led to significant changes in online platforms within the EU. As a result, companies are forbidden from targeting minors with personalized advertising and can face fines of up to 6% of their worldwide revenues for violations.
China's strict laws: China has implemented cybersecurity and minor protection laws that restrict online content for children and impose daily time limits on internet usage.
Active government intervention: Other countries, like Sweden, have advised against screen time for young children and set limits for older youth, based on research into negative effects on health and sleep. France, Finland, and England have also implemented restrictions in schools, with some students reporting better focus as a result.