Peak reached Social media is losing importance worldwide
For around two decades, the advance of social media seemed unstoppable. Now the trend is reversing. For the first time, people around the world are spending less time on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. And this is happening in the very generation that made them great.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The use of social media is cooling noticeably, especially among the younger target group.
- Platforms are moving away from the original purpose of social connection: Algorithms and AI content dominate, sharing and self-expression are taking a back seat.
- At the same time, the need for digital self-restraint is growing.
Two thirds of Swiss people use social media every day. However, this figure conceals a remarkable change. According to a global survey conducted by the analysis company GWI on behalf of the Financial Times, daily social media usage time has fallen by almost ten percent since 2022. At the end of 2024, it averaged two hours and 20 minutes. The decline is particularly marked among people under 30, the age group that once made social networks a central part of their lives.
What used to be a place of exchange, creativity and self-expression has clearly lost its appeal. "Social media is no longer what it used to be," says Austrian media scientist Dr. Katharina Lutz to Der Standard. "The platforms are increasingly overloading their users with advertising, AI content and algorithmically controlled distractions. This is exhausting - and alienating."
From exchange to algorithm
In fact, the nature of social networks has changed fundamentally in recent years. More and more content is no longer generated by people, but by machines. OpenAI is working on its own social media platform based around ChatGPT and has already presented a TikTok clone with AI-generated videos. This means that the proportion of artificial voices, faces and stories is growing - and the social dimension is receding into the background.
This is also confirmed by the data: According to GWI, the proportion of users who use social media primarily to "stay in touch with friends, express themselves or meet new people" has fallen by over 25 percent since 2014. Instead, Facebook, Instagram and the like are increasingly being used purely as sources of entertainment or information.
Communication loses, consumption wins
A survey of 41,000 people in Germany commissioned by Die Zeit shows a similar picture. Only 45% of respondents said that they still use social media primarily to maintain personal contacts. This figure could be even lower if messenger services such as WhatsApp were excluded.
At the same time, general cell phone use continues to rise. More and more everyday services - from dealing with the authorities to shopping - are moving online. The smartphone therefore remains a central companion in life, even if social networks are becoming less important.
Digital self-limitation as a new virtue
This digital disillusionment does not appear to be a coincidence, but an expression of a growing awareness. According to the Postbank Digital Study 2025, 72% of respondents do not want to expand their private Internet use in the future. Among 18 to 39-year-olds, as many as 36% plan to spend less time online.
Media psychologists see this as a change in mentality. "We are observing a trend towards digital self-regulation," explains Prof. Stefan Kübler from the University of Hamburg. "Many young people are realizing that constant accessibility and continuous algorithmic consumption are not compatible with their well-being."
A global trend with a striking outlier: social media consumption continues to increase in the USA. According to the Financial Times, the average usage time there is now 15 percent higher than in Europe - an increase that is associated with the increasing polarization of the political debate. There, platforms have long since ceased to function merely as communication spaces, but as battlegrounds for ideological debate.
