A personal overview of where I’m at with social media at the start of 2025 and my intentions for the year

I’ve written about my various states of social media in the past. I’ve gone on hiatuses, left certain social networks, went back etc. As we start the new year, I wanted to get a current state of social media for my own guidance as I move forward throughout 2025.

Instagram & Threads

I’ve had a hate/hate relationship with Instagram for a number of years as it moved to a “creator” platform and away from its photography roots.

For a while I disengaged from Instagram, but from the middle of last year I reopened my account for two reasons:

  1. We got a dog, and pet Instagram still seemed to have some juice (at least from the outside looking in)
  2. I wanted to re-engage with Threads. While Mastodon was (and still is) my primary micro-blogging platform, it was way easier to communicate and connect with people locally on Threads (they had the network effect due to the Instagram tie-in)

For a little bit it seemed ok, but I quickly got overwhelmed again. I kept to the chronological feed in Threads as much as possible, but the app and website fights you in every way possible to get you back into the algorithmic feed (where they will eventually make money via ads).

So in December I finally pulled the plug. While I’ve done this before, I don’t see myself returning simply because I know there’s no longer anything I desire on those platforms. As they start to get into more AI generated content, the reasons to go back will be even less.

Facebook

I could easily say the same about the main Facebook service too. Except I don’t really use it how they want me to (I rarely browse the feed). The utility around the main Facebook app is annoyingly useful (local community groups, Messenger connections with family, Marketplace for buying and selling).

As such, it’s more of an annoyance to try and delete my account than it is to just keep using it in the limited way I already do.

Bluesky

Early Bluesky didn’t really do it for me. It was (and in some cases, still is) very much a place for Gen Xs and Millennials to try and relive their glory years of old Twitter while still thinking they were cool (hint: they are not).

That has changed recently purely because it has hit a network effect moment where there are enough “normal” people on there to just post and discuss general happenings in their life and environment.

It’s also hit a point where sub-communities are starting to naturally develop. I’ve noticed recently there are a lot more photographers posting on there, probably tired of Meta continual enshittification of Instagram and early warning signs on Threads.

There’s a lot of hesitation from others around Bluesky’s funding model (primarily crypto-based VC), confusion about former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s involvement (FYI: he had minimal involvement throughout and is now no longer associated with them at all), and questions about their validity as a decentralised social platform.

Unlike Mastodon, which runs on the ActivityPub protocol and natively federates with other services utilising that protocol (including, in a limited way currently, Threads); Bluesky are the only service on the AT protocol that I’m aware of. Despite everything they are doing, they are effectively a centralised service.

But all that doesn’t really matter to be honest. People are there and are enjoying it now, so its immediate future looks promising.

Mastodon

Mastodon is the desktop Linux of social networks. I’m sorry my peeps, but we just are. I say we because it is the network I’m most comfortable on. Primarily smaller groups and more technically minded folk.

It will never be the mass market option, much to the chagrin‘ of some on the platform. But the occasional judgemental nature of the environment when you dare have a opinion outside of their own gives it a hostility that puts regular people off (if they get past the “choose your instance” barrier in the first place).

That being said, there is a core group of people I like hearing from there; and I continue to hope that the future of social media is federated across multiple platforms.

Discord

Used for only a handful of communities and only on my laptop. Not really an issue as long as I keep it off the phone (another thing for distraction).

Reddit

This is a distraction and, to be honest, I really need to look at how I use and/or interact with the platform moving forward. I don’t have it on the phone, but even on my laptop it is a bit of a time suck.

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Note: I didn’t write about some other platforms as I don’t use them and have no intention of starting (Twitter/X, Snapchat, TikTok etc).