by Lily Chanhee Park

Due to social media’s prevalence, it’s difficult to recall a time before we were continuously monitoring our feeds. We are constantly uploading images and participating in real-time discussions with people all over the world, and the social media platform ‘Instagram’ has amplified this effect. But social media platforms have a lifespan.

At its peak, Instagram boasted over a billion users and was the undisputed leader in social media, according to Business Insider. While it remains the most-used social networking app, its appeal among dedicated users is waning. In the U.S., TikTok has emerged as the favorite among young people, with nearly 39% of respondents naming it their preferred app—compared to 32% for Instagram, down from 38% the previous year. If so, why is this happening? More significantly, what does it indicate about social media’s future?

Instagram’s decline has been anything but quiet. Many users now believe that a platform that was before associated with aesthetic expression, authenticity, and personal connection has shifted toward algorithmic manipulation rather than meaningful interaction. In other words, the platform has become ‘lame,’ as it simply became a source of import for trends instead of the starting hub for it. Let’s take a closer look as to why Instagram is losing its appeal.

1. The Decline of Instagram: Why Users Are Fed Up

First of all, many users now feel cut off from the content that truly matters to them due to the platform’s growing reliance on complex algorithms. The platform’s identity has further been diluted by features like Reels and Stories, which resemble the main features of rival social media mediums like TikTok and Snapchat. These updates frequently put virality ahead of interpersonal relationships, giving preference to postings with a high level of engagement and significant commercial content above those from friends and mutuals. There has even been criticism of the switch to a 4:3 grid, with many people complaining about Instagram’s new visual design. It seems like Instagram is making too much of an effort to follow the newest trends at the expense of what first set it apart: the ability to express oneself and interact directly with others.

from; X user @polkadotrryy

In light of this, Instagram’s overcommercialization is among the clearest indicators of its demise. Users are bombarded with sponsored content and advertisements as they read through their feeds. Prioritizing advertisements or social media posts with advertisements makes the user experience feel less like a community and more like a sales pitch. What’s the worst? Many users believe that commercial interests are drowning out their views. Instead of seeing posts from the people we care about, we are flooded with “suggested posts” from people we don’t follow or have personal connections with. In many ways, Instagram is pushing its users into a digital space where intimacy and personal connection are increasingly rare.

Despite Instagram’s efforts to filter offensive material, its comment sections have become a haven for hate speech and toxicity. Many posts are dominated by controversial content, bigotry, and harassment, which demoralizes users. Recent platform changes have only exacerbated this issue. Instagram’s new regulations starting from 2025 prioritize “free speech” while eliminating human professional moderators, allowing harmful content to spread more easily. As a result, comments that degrade marginalized groups, such as women being openly objectified, are increasingly left unchecked. In an effort to encourage engagement and extended interactions, Instagram’s algorithm often pushes the most provocative and negative comments to the top of controversial posts, further fueling hostility. Ultimately, Instagram’s comment sections have devolved into a free-for-all where racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other forms of hate flourish across both Western and non-Western contexts.

Users are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the platform as a result of its ineffective content monitoring and failure to prevent the spread of false information. Speaking about the general tone of Instagram’s comment sections, a portion of users claim that the amount of hostility there has made them unreadable. This reflects a larger trend: Instagram has evolved into a hostile arena for opposing viewpoints rather than a place for natural connections stemming from both online and offline to flourish.

Adding on this trend, there’s a noticeable imbalance in public interactions, especially in the comment sections, where female creators often face harsher criticism and toxicity than their male counterparts, which are often based on incel rhetoric and misogyny. Creators from marginalized groups stress that a lack of comment section regulation is leading them to social media fatigue, and a good portion of them are no longer posting content on Instagram due to the sheer amount of hate they are facing. A report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) analyzed over half a million comments on posts by female politicians and found that Instagram failed to remove abusive comments targeting them. Despite breaching platform standards, 93% of these harmful comments remained. The CCDH highlighted that social media algorithms prioritizing engagement can exacerbate abuse towards women politicians, especially women of color. Even though harsh comment sections are not a problem that is limited to Instagram, the combination of algorithmic manipulation, increased commercialization, and a lack of content moderation has created an environment where authentic connection and community are difficult to find.

2. Patterns in the Rise and Fall of Social Media Platforms

Instagram’s decline is part of a larger, cyclical trend that has been witnessed across multiple platforms. Whether it’s MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter, social media platforms often follow a predictable lifecycle: rise, peak, and eventual decline. Instagram’s trajectory mirrors this cycle, highlighting a few key patterns in the rise and fall of social media.

Many platforms start with a focus on personal connections but eventually shift towards virality as they scale. MySpace, for example, initially centered around music and personal profiles but eventually changed its direction toward maximizing its user base, ultimately alienating the early adopters. Similarly, Instagram, once a hub for creative self-expression, has become a platform obsessed with virality, likes, and sponsored content.

As platforms grow, they often struggle with content moderation, which leads to a rise in toxicity and bigotry. Instagram, like Twitter and Facebook, has faced challenges in moderating hate speech and harmful content. The rise of politically polarized content, especially in countries like the United States, has contributed to an increasingly hostile environment. As platforms like Instagram grow larger, they also become a platform for divisive political discourse, making them less welcoming for many users.

Another consistent pattern is the overmonetization of platforms. As social media networks grow, they increasingly prioritize ad revenue, often at the expense of user satisfaction. Pinterest can be an example, where they started to increase the amount of ads on the platform, and now half of the content on the platform is filled with ads instead of authentic content. The rise of ads and sponsored content, coupled with algorithmic manipulation, turns platforms like Instagram into profit-generating machines, further alienating users who crave authenticity over commercialization.

Domus. (2013, March 9). The ironic object [Photograph]. In Domusweb: From the archive. Domus. https://www.domusweb.it/en/from-the-archive/2013/03/09/the-ironic-object.html

copyright © by 200degrees

3. What’s Next for Social Media?

As Instagram persists in its decline, many are left wondering what the future holds for social media. If Instagram’s rise and fall teach us anything, it’s that platforms need to evolve and adapt to user desires. Therefore, the future of social media may lie in smaller, more intimate spaces that prioritize creativity, connection, and user control.

After the rise of short-video-formed, algorithm-based social media during the last 5 years, the next wave of social media could look a lot different. Platforms like Discord and BeReal have gained popularity by focusing on intimacy and community rather than virality. Users are increasingly gravitating toward spaces that allow them to connect with like-minded individuals in a more meaningful way, rather than chasing the approval of thousands of strangers.

There’s also a growing demand for platforms that give users more control over their feeds. Algorithms have become a source of frustration, with many users wanting the ability to curate their own content and avoid being fed irrelevant posts. This demand for user-controlled algorithms could lead to a new generation of social networks that prioritize individual autonomy.

As users grow tired of ads and algorithmic manipulation, decentralized platforms and ad-free models may become more appealing. Mastodon, for example, is experimenting with decentralized structures, allowing users to create their own communities without the interference of corporate interests. This could be the future of social media: a return to smaller, more personalized networks where users have more control over their experience.

4. Lessons from Cyworld: Could It Make a Comeback?

While Instagram’s decline may be inevitable, there’s still hope for social media that prioritizes connection over commercialization. A potential model for the future could be a reimagined version of Cyworld, a South Korean social platform that was once a dominant force in the digital world, which can be explained as the Korean version of ‘Myspace’, but with higher engagement with fellow users and an interface focusing on curation. Cyworld was unique because it allowed users to create deeply personalized profiles and engage with smaller, curated groups of people.

This beloved Korean platform that peaked in the 2000s, is attempting a revival. With 32 million users at its height, Cyworld’s strength lay in its personalization, intimate friend networks, and virtual economy. Its “Minirooms” and avatars allowed users to express their individuality, while its Acorn currency pioneered virtual goods. The key to Cyworld’s success lies in making it easy and convenient for anyone to use what was once a complicated platform like a personal homepage through the concept of “mini homepages.” As the user base grew, features like photo albums allowed people to share their daily lives with acquaintances, while customizable skins and BGM (background music) enabled users to express their emotions and personal style to friends. This service model resonated strongly with the younger generation. The platform also adopted a real-name system to build trust and maintained a clean and safe site environment, contributing significantly to its growth. Additionally, the fact that famous politicians and celebrities openly shared glimpses of their daily lives helped solidify Cyworld’s place as a widely popular service.

Cyworld, which lost popularity in the late 2000s, is making an attempt of resurgence with a renewed emphasis on privacy, moderation, and aesthetic control, which could provide users with a refuge from the chaotic noise of mainstream platforms. Rebranding as a remedy for the mess of contemporary social media by providing smaller, curated communities and venues that can be customized, Cyworld meets the growing need for exclusivity and meaningful interactions. Could a resurged Cyworld that incorporates AR, VR, and strict moderation serve as a model for social media in the future?

5. The Future of Connection

As we look at the rise and fall of Instagram and other social media giants, it’s clear that the future of social media must prioritize authentic connection, creativity, and inclusivity. Whether through the revival of Cyworld or a completely new platform, the next generation of social media will need to focus on creating meaningful experiences for users, away from the algorithmic manipulation and commercialization that have plagued the current landscape.

Social media platforms often mirror societal trends. The rise of conservative bigotry and polarization has contributed to the decline of many platforms, including Instagram. Algorithmic amplification of dividing content and inadequate moderation allow hate speech to prosper, making these platforms hostile for marginalized groups.

Platforms like Instagram are no longer spaces limited to personal entertainment; they reflect societal shifts, from the dumbing-down effect of oversexualized and beauty-focused content to the unchecked spread of harmful ideologies.

Getting likes and followers or trying to catch the next viral trend are not going to be the primary goals of social media in the next generation. Finding places in the digital world where people can truly interact, express themselves artistically, and feel protected and appreciated is the goal. We might discover as the environment changes that social media’s true strength is in uniting people rather than in amassing revenue.