Social Media & Community Fragmentation
Social media platforms are going through an adolescence crisis, torn between rejecting their media dimension and craving for connection.
Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, reminded us in The New York Times that in the future, we will all be part of dozens of different communities because, as human beings, that's how we are constituted.
The return of the social, a precious link
Neighborhood groups, parent-teacher associations, Sunday sports enthusiasts, watch collectors: we already use curation and discussion tools based on our needs or desires. A common-sense argument that goes against the narratives of the major platforms. They rely on a relatively hegemonic position in the medium to long term, reassuring investors and shareholders by selling the "media" dimension of social networks. However, the Chinese experience with WeChat, the ultimate mega (or meta) application where you can literally do everything, proves that there is always room for our social or economic needs in a plethora of niches.
Individuals influenced by algorithms seek to connect either to content that excites or comforts them (like TikTok to some extent) or to other people when the content becomes a social matter ("Have you seen the latest Wes Anderson trend? A M A Z I N G").
The personal subject, immense collective responsibility, and source of value
In an interview broadcast on France Culture, the sociologist Alain Touraine offered a comparative analysis between the industrial revolution and the ongoing digital revolution. According to Touraine, in a very summarized form, the industrial revolution promised progress by changing things. These things relate to the work tool but also to how people were considered. In contrast, the digital revolution is supposed to create "better" by changing personal subjects. His reflection—though born well before the dawn of social networks—is incredibly precise. According to him, it's no longer society or intermediary bodies that can clearly establish what is right or wrong. It's the individual, seeking to become the author of their life, who must become the ethical engine of society as a whole. It's the individual, by joining millions of others, who can launch a movement, feel invested with a mission that stems both from them and their connection with others, and can induce positive change. Examples abound in recent news. Clémentine Vergnaud has opened a journal in the form of a podcast - "Ma vie face au cancer" (My Life Facing Cancer) - which helps better understand what patients are going through. Even in the business sphere, independent brands adapt this "acting subject" approach. I often cite the example of Versatile Paris, a true saga that we can follow almost like a series in which we are no longer just customers but almost supporters.
These personal subjects are the dread of dictatorships and ultra-conservatives because, by essence, they aim to propose a redefinition of what is normal (rather than proclaiming a return to a pseudo-lost paradise), because they take up space and shake the status quo. And because they demand a form of dignity for their subject, which tends to excite reactionaries.
And what is the value of our lives on social networks?
Talking about personal subjects also involves discussing the value of documented, shared, and connected lives online. And the documentation of our existences. What is the worth of the lived experience in the end?
Some not-so-subtle signals are in motion. BeReal - at its inception - led the way by proposing limited sharing to only one content per day to unlock posts from "real" friends. A way to reduce undesired virality effects and focus on real connections. Even more atypical, Minus Social, an experiment led by Ben Grosser commissioned by the arebyte Gallery.
The promise is provocative:
"Minus is a finite social network where you have 100 posts for your entire life. Although you can reply to a post as much as you like, each time you add something to the feed, it subtracts from your total remaining posts. When you reach 0 posts, it's over. No exceptions. (...).
What will the disorientation be like to interact on a platform that doesn't seek endless engagement every second of your waking life? What will you say or create when you're freed from infinite demand?
(...) Just like life, Minus has its limits."
In other words, what is rare is... precious.