The Future of Social Media

Predictions about the future are inevitably inaccurate but alas, in the year 2075 people will likely be so immersed in what we call social media that it will be second nature for them.  The technology like smartphones and tablets and the channels (Facebook, Twitter) in use today will be as antiquated as dipping a quill in ink is today.  As technology advances it becomes both less tangible and more cohesive.  By reducing the number of objects that we currently must purchase, maintain and carry with us, social media will be continually integrated into our lives.  It is hard to say how many years advancements will take but I could easily see everyone using just a pair of eyeglasses like Google Glass.  Likewise, I think that we’ll have an all-encompassing platform that can perform every function one you could ever want.  There will be no need to have various accounts and all the resources that are put into competing channels will be combined in order to create the ideal medium for the world’s population to be interconnected at all times.

The purpose will be to create a harmonious social environment that benefits everyone from laypeople to large corporations.  The result will unfortunately be less equality and transparency.  The new platform will be a barrier to the creative expression that millennials exhibit via apps like Snapchat.  The specificity of Snapchat provides a unique way for young people to communicate in their own space, away from the intrusive reach of their elders.  All tools that embrace growth must simultaneously accept a loss of originality and social media’s ultimate purpose is to connect people, so it makes sense that channels like Facebook will grow and adapt to accommodate the greatest number of people possible.  

That said, people will have increased autonomy in 2075 because geographical restrictions will wane and the increased access will implicitly serve to reduce false or misleading information from reaching a mass audience.  This has already begun to take form as news organizations, who aim to disseminate the news objectively, are using social media to fact check prominent events as they happen.  The New York Times has done this with the recent presidential debates and anytime there has been a major “real-time” event they post live coverage.  Sadly, as I’m writing, there is the aftermath of a mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA.  This is just one example of how social media allows people to monitor the actions of others and expose them to the masses.  I see a future where everyone will have to compete even harder for their voice to be heard as everyone will have access to everything on the one platform.  There will be stricter rules about advertising so companies will increasingly pay more for space.  

I also see there being tools that automatically flag posts based on criteria such as foul or abusive language and graphic content as well as the perpetration of false or libelous  information.  There will be an algorithm that will analyze all posts for a variety of criteria, to increase the prominence of posts related to topics one likes and to decrease topics one dislikes.  However, posts containing false information will not be eliminated; instead they will be flagged with a statement explaining what is false and how so.  The reason for this will be to protect freedom of speech.  There will also be virtual assistants who will be able to access any information anywhere on social media and do tasks like aggregate every New York Times post from November, that mentions Thanksgiving, into a folder.

We have a long way to go until 2075 but in all likelihood, the social media landscape will be a far cry from the world of Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram.  My biggest question is whether or not it will be better?