Where We Go When the Feed Stops Speaking to Us
I had a blog in 2003 where I detailed my life, reading list, and random musings for a horde of followers on my college campus. It was confessional; my shortcut to depth. Blog entries swirled around my philosophy professor’s take on nihilism or the romanticization of sleepy heat in summertime — all in hopes of finding my crowd.
Then Facebook rolled along in 2004, effectively pulling everyone from AOL chats and Blogspot comments into its orbit. When I finally gave way to Facebook, it was practical; I wanted to connect with my classmates.
I never anticipated Facebook would still exist in 2025. In the 2000s, tech companies were rapidly coming and going. No one considered the long-term ramifications on our mental, emotional, and financial health.
Social media has infiltrated our lives way beyond the intended goal of connection. Today, brands and influencers bombard our feeds with adverts. And the most popular content follows a templated cadence for easy reading/listening. It’s a modern form of entertainment.
Social media isn’t a sanctuary; it’s a sieve, filtering out every drop of connection. We play the role of creator and consumer. As creators, we commoditize our identity. As consumers, we’re sold to by brands, while influencers trade our eyeballs like currency.
Influencers become platforms, not just people. Their lives are curated storefronts where identity, taste, and even vulnerability are monetized. And that comes with a strange inversion. What once made someone relatable is now the product.
The line between expression and promotion blurs until it’s hard to tell genuine from staged. It’s an uncanny and disconnected experience, but one that feels necessary.
Recently, I heard some directors consider social media follower count when casting their productions for a built-in audience. That’s immense pressure for those carving out a career in acting. On the flip side, actors deemed serious or established eschew social media. They already have a reputation, and being in public spaces like social media may create accessibility, but it also creates scrutiny.
I see echoes of this in corporate roles — a personal brand is a consideration in hiring cycles. But it’s a double-bind where being seen is an asset, but it’s also a liability, depending on how and by whom you’re being judged. So, we filter ourselves.
Mass networks decimated the art of telling and responding to personal stories. I often quiet my thoughts or squirrel them away to share in small gatherings or friend chats.
Because conversation still happens online. People are just hiding in the nooks and crannies of the internet — group texts, niche platforms, micro-communities, and hobby clubs. These clusters are hiding from brands and bots. Instead, they crave meaningful, authentic, and secure interactions.
To understand why, we can look at what happened to Reddit.
It was a forum for niche communities. Then, creators started reacting to Reddit posts, which at best provided social or moral commentary. Soon, Reddit posts were lifted into Reels and TikToks. Calling that curation feels generous. And now, AI writes Reddit posts, replies to them, and turns the whole thing into bite-sized social content. The loop runs without us.
If there’s no longer community or commentary, is there a point?
Collectively, we’re starting to say, “No, there’s not a point.”
More and more, my diary-like entries strike a resonant chord over research pieces. Reading an individual’s narrative feels real in a sea of quick, mass-produced content.
I can’t help but think of my little Blogspot from twenty years ago with its coming-of-age tales and fragments of poetry. We’re circling back to micro-communities, and there’s more to come.
Hi, I’m Courtney. I’ve spent over a decade in tech companies as a Head of People and startup fixer, working directly with founders. My founders have been featured in Fast Company, Fortune, Inc., People, and more.
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