When you look at the world’s brief history and how it has evolved over the ages, you’ll see that nothing stays on top indefinitely. People, countries, civilizations, and businesses all fall prey to a slow demise. This shocking truth is evident if you examine previous Fortune 500 firms. Almost all of the firms on the 1955 list are no longer in business. Other inventors and newer members of this prestigious list just shuttered them or ate them up. However, this retrospective shows far less about failing firms and far more about innovation and transition. It’s not just about failure but more about coming to terms with the fact that change is undoubtedly the only constant.

We’re transitioning from one age to the next; a decade ago, it was all about oil. It is now, however, the internet. According to Professor Andrew Ng, AI is probably the next electricity. The Internet has increased people’s ability to study and communicate and has changed the lives of billions of people. It has not only transformed the media but given birth to a ton of new professions. Facebook has always remained a core aspect of this Internet magic.

Every day, technology advances, creating new chances for new businesses to emerge. Those who do not take advantage of the chances presented by the advances will collapse, as has happened throughout history. Furthermore, people’s social lives are quickly evolving, presenting them with new demands and perceptions regularly. Businesses that cannot continue to stay relevant to the continually changing needs of people are bound to become obsolete, and Facebook is one such prey to change.

But if Facebook is dying, what shall come next? To know more about that, we first need to understand the reasons behind Facebook’s growing unpopularity.

The reason behind Facebook’s death

Facebook is among the top 5 internet companies today, with a net worth of $920 billion as of June 2021. It has over 2.85 million monthly active users. This overwhelming data may contradict our argument that Facebook is dying, but rest assured, you will know what we’re talking about if you ask around enough.

The present number of active users is enormous, and it continues to rise every day; but, what happens when this growth curve hits its apex and begins to fall one day? Facebook might have the same fate as Yahoo Messenger, MSN or Orkut.

Before Facebook, the frenzy was all about MySpace. It offered far superior customization and expression at the time, but it fell short on new algorithms and left far too much innovation to third-party HTML wizards. Facebook was successful because it spoon-fed users a layout and instructions for building and developing their accounts. Facebook was more concerned with pictures and the dopamine rush that came with receiving likes on them.

It was the first social media app that popularized the concept that almost everybody can enjoy and be fascinated by your everyday activities and friendships. It allowed soccer mothers and otherwise dull individuals to immediately try to stir up their lives by simply using a camera. Facebook helped create an audience that loved to watch random unimportant things other people were doing in their lives. Today, YouTube can monetize the same concept as influencers or vloggers constantly upload videos of their daily activities.

Comprising people’s data privacy

When Facebook first came into our lives in 2004 — a lifetime ago for many — a revolution was begun. The importance of connectedness and outreach was a major topic in those early days. However, most influencers who established businesses, empires, and bank accounts with this powerful new instrument called social media were unaware of the backstage data collecting.

In this new age of rapid social media use, people are anxious about their data privacy, and they will continue to be so in the next years of the digital world. Concerning this, Facebook’s reputation is not excellent as the company is known to generate money unethically by selling consumer data.

Lack of innovation

Facebook hasn’t changed all that much in the last few years. Yes, it added some new features, such as the marketplace, and enhanced its ad targeting and chat capabilities, but there were no major innovations; it’s essentially identical to the Facebook we used five years ago.

Think about what happened with Snapchat. Because they could not strike a deal with Facebook, the latter began to replicate some of its features into Messenger and Instagram. Facebook won the war against Snapchat with this technique, but is this a guarantee that it will win all future battles? Facebook must develop its own unique solutions rather than relying on others.

Facebook can be deceptive.

Even if you are not a Facebook maniac who checks your profile every second, you most certainly have Facebook friends who post their daily meals or ‘easy solutions’ to global political problems or crises that the smartest people cannot solve for years.

Sharing your opinions on Facebook might make you feel like you’ve contributed to the solution, but that’s not enough in many situations. Imagine meeting someone on the street who is hungry. Instead of giving him something to eat, you made a Facebook status about him and urged people to help him, or at the very least share your post.

Even if you get a million people to share your post, it will not bring a tangible difference to this person’s life unless someone actually feeds them.

It’s dying a natural death.

The major reason for this is that younger generations are less likely to use Facebook. Facebook is nearly uncool to a 15-year-old. Why would today’s youngsters join something their parents use, unless it’s the local gym or swimming pool?

Only 51% of 13- to 17-year-olds in the United States say they use Facebook, down from 71% in Pew’s last survey in 2015.  This number was notably lower than the kids who used YouTube (85%), Instagram (72%), or Snapchat (69%). In short, Facebook is dying a natural death.

So what’s next?

We like global connectedness, friendships, alliances, and inquiry. At the same time, we are concerned about information explosion, fraud, abuse of personal data, and negative consequences for children.

No one can predict how social media will evolve in the future. Still, if there is an app that becomes the next big thing after Facebook, it should strike an optimum balance between user-friendly and a haven for your data.

What shall this app look like?

The future app shall have a unique ratio of ‘social’ versus ‘media’ encrypted in its algorithm. This means that users will have a certain amount of content to consume while at the same time they will have adequate access to networking, much like Instagram or Facebook, but with additional coming-of-age features that set it apart.

What sets this application apart?

Perhaps, in the context of a world that is now almost entirely AI-driven, we shall have an app that customizes its social to media ratio based upon the user. This is very well possible considering the increasing ability of social media apps to access our data.

If Facebook can show you ads for the desk lamp you were searching on Amazon a while back, it’s not unimaginable for an app to understand your preferences for media consumption or social networking with the help of artificial intelligence.

Consider this: if you prefer viewing videos to sharing or chatting with others, this app will provide you with greater content visibility and accessibility than sending DMs. On the other hand, for your social butterfly friend, this app will provide additional opportunities to engage with others via messaging or other means.

This means that the app will not be a one-size-fits-all kind of a thing, it’ll be programmed entirely based on user preference, and obviously, all this will be done with artificial intelligence.

What other features will this application have?

Everything at the same place

Consider an app that brings together all of your favorite internet functions in one spot without sacrificing any of their features. Think about combining Amazon, Netflix, Instagram, and LinkedIn into a single user experience. If you’re watching a Netflix show and you like the t-shirt one of the characters is wearing, click on it, and you’ll be redirected to an Amazon page where you can buy the same one.

Take a screen recording of this whole process and share it on your story with your friends on Instagram. And when you accumulate a ton of followers on your profile, share it with your professional colleagues on LinkedIn, letting them catch a glimpse of your social life.

More Privacy

We’ve seen it on Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other platforms: identity theft, authentication, and false news are all major issues. Although intruding on users’ privacy, some features keep them ignorant of their real conduct when they opt-in. Snapchat’s snap map, for example, is excellent for stalkers. It may be zoomed in to provide precise geographic information like street addresses. Even technologies like Facebook’s “clean history” aren’t immune.

This app of the future calls for open architecture data formats to make the app safer for users belonging to all categories.

Photos and videos become the primary source for content and marketing

It’s easy to become a photographer now that almost every phone has a built-in camera. The use of photo animation software is pushing things to the next level. In addition, social media sites such as Instagram and Snapchat have turned us into visual consumers. We’re short on time. Longreads take effort, whereas visual material is easily digestible.

Photos and videos are also indispensable when it comes to marketing. A study suggests that 90% of buyers use explainer product videos to make purchasing choices. Purchase intent is increased by 97%, and brand association is increased by 139% when advertisements are enjoyable.

With TikTok revolutionizing the content industry with 15 second short videos, our attention span has considerably decreased. That is why this new application will come with more photos and videos and fewer boring and lengthy write-ups.

Smarter Algorithms

Social networking software algorithms strike a balance between meaningful connections for consumers and brand value. This future application will take advantage of the artificial intelligence in user browsers to provide the greatest user experience and smarter filters to manage content explosion.

Provisions for in-app money transfer

This future app will integrate your banking services along with your media usage. According to GlobalWebIndex, 63% of mobile banking customers also use mobile apps. As a result, combining the two characteristics will be simple.

An App That Will Revolutionize Social Media

We’ve gotten our fill of bad news about social media, from data breaches to election interference, false news, and a decline in involvement. We’re on the verge of a new age in social media. Let’s make sure the future of social media is bright and joyful, with the gears already in action and fresh ideas at full speed.

This application will effectively and freely offer us the instruments for self-expression, communication, and pleasure while keeping a perfect balance between our social media accounts, contacts, and feed. With all your favorite features in one place, this app of the future is bound to overthrow the reign of Facebook and revolutionize the concept of social media.

Last Updated on August 25, 2023 by ayeshayusuf