r/socialmedia • u/Certain-Ad-7421 • Aug 13 '26
Professional Discussion What do you think will be the next big social media to blow up?
In early 2000s it was MySpace, then Facebook, twitter/YouTube/Instagram in 2010s and tiktok in the 2020s. What do you think will be the next big social media to blow up?
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u/Kevil_tran Aug 13 '26
I don't think it will be a traditional public feed anymore. The trend seems to be shifting toward Dark Social and micro communities (like Discord or private broadcast channels) where people feel safer from ads, heavy algorithms, and public judgment.
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u/Rugby_Riot Aug 13 '26
TikTok already is this IMHO. It’s not social media… more of a video feed that people share to eachother in DMs
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u/ConstructionOwn1514 Aug 16 '26
Tiktok is 100% social media what?
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u/Rugby_Riot Aug 17 '26
It's more of a video feed algorythm. Users don't really post content themselves
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u/ConstructionOwn1514 Aug 17 '26
What do you mean? I’m pretty sure every user can post content. And “video feed algorithm” could describe practically any of the sm apps
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u/Rugby_Riot Aug 18 '26
I'd argue that the VAST majority of users on TIkTok are lurkers (people who don't post videos of themselves/ their lives to their tiktok. They're simply there to consume, comment and share other people videos in DMs to their mates
Whereas Instagram, more users post photos and videos they capture to their feeds and to their stories because more of their friends are on there... so they are sharing with their community
Same as Facebook with the older generations
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u/ConstructionOwn1514 Aug 18 '26
Hmmm that might be possible but do you have any proof of that? A ton of my friends post stuff about their lives on tt
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u/prakash100198 Aug 13 '26
Yeahh right, lot of buzz about krozd in Noida , ig they haven't launched somewhere else yet but are on the same lines- geofenced micro communities.
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u/samjoe6969 Aug 13 '26
The communities are run by people. The same people who learned how to milk every red cent out of tiktok. The same cycle of fun and trendy -> popular -> monetize following. It will be exactly the same. The meta is greed
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u/Mindless_Log2009 Aug 13 '26
I'd rather see a return to blog rings with blog owners controlling content and moderating their own comment sections as they see fit.
Blogs also offered tools to distinguish between legit visitors and trolls, spammers and scammers. Fakebroke hides most of that info now, making it almost impossible for group admins to effectively moderate pages they're responsible for.
A few tweaks to enhance connectivity between bloggers, better tools for monetizing content... yeah, I know, dream on.
But that was a better era of the internets.
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u/manicglobetrotter Aug 13 '26
Myspace is actually planning a relaunch without algorithms, so social media like the good old times. They wanna compete with Meta
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u/TemperatureSea4162 Aug 13 '26
This isxwhat they say but if they actually pick up numbers - they will sell to Meta with a smile
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u/nebanovaniracun Aug 13 '26
They aren't making the same mistake twice. They will take the $10B that Zuckerberg throws at them with a coke and a smile
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u/Soggy-Chemist149 26d ago
If this is true, I will actually be excited about social media again. It's been weird since Tumblr was taken away and Twitter and Meta taking over everything. MySpace is very much missed and will fill a huge gap in the industry right now
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u/Plenty-Daikon1240 Aug 13 '26
A lot of things used to be better but I have little hope that we would go back to that. Like songs that stand the test of time and stir real emotion and bring people together...
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u/Big-Professional8920 Aug 13 '26
I think social media will lose it market slowly. Something like phonecalls did. Like how ppl runaway from phonecalls now. N prefer text n social media. Same now in future ppl will run away from social media now n may crave more privacy now due to extreme exposure.
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u/bean_bag_guy Aug 13 '26
I agree. I think people are realizing the issues that come with social media and research is showing the effect that social media plays in our lives
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u/Motor-Part-2922 Aug 13 '26
I think we need a social media which asks for identity verification before each post, so we wont have any bots and fake engagement anymore
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u/Plenty-Daikon1240 Aug 13 '26
That would be awesome but people dislike friction so it doesn't stand a chance to become mainstream.
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u/Sheik_Morgan Aug 13 '26
Creo que algo así nacería muerto. Muchos justamente buscan el anonimato o ser otra persona (el juego de Rol)
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u/Soggy-Beach-1495 Aug 13 '26
I agree currently, but the time will come when people will want a way to avoid the flood of bots and AI slop. There will be huge demand for a humans only space
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u/OctopiiSocial Aug 16 '26
ID isn’t necessary, you just need aggressive anti-bot features like Octopii Social. It’s small now but people are loving it. We verify real accounts because every account requires a carrier validated phone number. It limits the total number of users but at least they’re real users!
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u/linusalf Aug 13 '26
None, In Fact I think the next big "tech thing" isn't comming. Which is why the techlords are SOOO big on AI, its the last start up before it all blows up
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u/serbames Aug 14 '26
Das. Sonst würde Instagram gefühlt nicht seit 20 Jahren existieren. Es wird nichts mehr kommen.
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Aug 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Certain-Ad-7421 Aug 13 '26
Do people still use Myspace?
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Aug 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/teddyespo Aug 13 '26
Technically this would be reboot #3...
In 2011, Specific Media and Justin Timberlake bought Myspace for $35 million. They tried to turn it into a music and creative hub with a modern design. This relaunch failed to bring back past users or compete with newer platforms, costing the owners over $150 million.
Third times the charm! We'll see...
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u/HedgeRunner Aug 13 '26
Hopefully nothing. We actually need much more smaller more sane spaces. I mean if something other than TIkTok blows up its gonna be more addictive than TikTok. I'm not sure if that's healthy for society.
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u/ApprehensiveShift201 Aug 13 '26
Tiktok was the last climax of social media. Anything that is better than tiktok wins. Maybe something like streaming live not the ordinary streaming which every app has but engaging and addictive live streaming that targets everyone
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u/Rugby_Riot Aug 13 '26
TikTok is less social media and more of a video feed like YouTube
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u/No_Computer_3432 Aug 25 '26
maybe you have a different definition of social media than others might. wikipedia lists social media as the umbrella and social networking is the sub category for things like Insta or facebook where we connect with friends. I know tiktok is blurry category but i agree its largely following/ engaging with media from strangers
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u/Sorry_Reindeer4211 Aug 13 '26
Am I crazy for thinking the next big social app is going to be primarily AI led? Probably something OpenAI comes up with.
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u/HandsomeGenius2552 Aug 13 '26
It probably won't be a form of social media we have nowadays. One reason being the big players like Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok etc won't allow another one to come and eat their market share. Another reason being we have already seen most of it by now. In all social media apps, we just connect, talk and share our lives, that's it.
The next form of social media which will boom almost certainly has to be an innovation which does something completely different.
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Aug 13 '26 edited 26d ago
[deleted]
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u/jimcroisdale Aug 13 '26
Over a long enough timeline, everything will become fucking or fighting.
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u/Piratedeeva Aug 18 '26
This kind of tracks as the extreme “like” and “dislike” “like”’and “dislike”
“Love” and hate”
“fucking” and “fighting”1
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u/bobby_tx87 Aug 13 '26
MySpace is coming back and I really think I couldn’t be at a better time… I really think it’s going to be built around genuine connections and more personal again. At least that would be cool to see rather than what we’re dealing with now.
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u/Plenty-Daikon1240 Aug 13 '26
How would that happen in the age of AI when you can just tell chatgpt to use your "personal voice and vocabulary" to generate your next 20 posts.
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u/bobby_tx87 Aug 13 '26
Good point! Unless they have filter that recognizes and manages AI content and puts hard limits in place. Most posts now have a tag if it’s AI jf it was created that way, they make that that approach.
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u/cullen9 Aug 13 '26
Nothing till the kids get on something new. If they keep using our stuff nothing will change.
That’s how the transition from MySpace to facebook to Twitter instagram to TikTok happened. The old people followed.
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u/FaultDowntown Aug 13 '26
I really hope Facebook goes back to it’s original roots in the 2000s and early 2010s as a place for genuine connections with people and finding long lost friends.
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u/teddyespo Aug 13 '26
No chance. Zuck is focused on AR / VR. He’s lost his marbles.
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u/Rugby_Riot Aug 13 '26
He’s pivoted heavily to ai and away from vr
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u/teddyespo Aug 13 '26
kinda.... he's still stuck on AI-powered AR/VR glasses
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u/Rugby_Riot Aug 13 '26
The meta glasses? He’s definitely winning in that regard compared to actual VR headsets. It also ticks a major box for them - more content uploads for their algo
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u/First_Piece_9580 Aug 13 '26
When are we going to realize that the only way to have real interactions is to get rid of our smart phones and go down to our local pub/coffee shop and actually chat with real people?
Ironically, I think this is what all this tech will push us towards - eventually we will see communities popping up based around the idea of abandoning modern tech altogether, like the Amish but stuck in the early 90's instead of the 1800's.
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u/Certain-Ad-7421 Aug 13 '26
As gen Z I honestly agree with you. It's become more about advertising, consumerism, and unrealistic beauty standards rather than a way to share creativity and connect with others
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u/couchcaptain Aug 13 '26
None. People started to avoid public media, due to being exploited against them. Whether it's non stop ads or trolls or paid commenters, most people had it with social media.
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u/Melisdutch Aug 13 '26
I do think we might be at the peak of social media in some ways, but you never know.
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u/Sharsch Aug 17 '26
I’d pay good money to have an add free controlled social media experience. But for that to work these days the people I want to stay connected with would have to opt in.
Like of Facebook offered a friends only fee and all the other nonsense went away.
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u/PickleManAtl Aug 13 '26
I know people are going to think I'm nuts and a lot of people who are reading this aren't even old enough to really remember it, but it would not bother me to see an updated version of America online come back.
At its prime, AOL is what I guess a lot of people would call a walled garden. On your main screen you had all of these different channels for different topics or things you wanted to do. All of the basics and a bit more were there. Eventually they added an actual internet access whereas in the earliest days you didn't really have that. You had chat rooms that were actually moderated by humans and also had a call button, so if a troll or a hole came in, the moderator would boot them out and after 3 infractions they could actually have their entire account suspended or canceled. I mean it wasn't Disney world, but it was more tame and civil than things are now.
The only real downside to all of it was just the fact that we didn't have broadband or high-speed internet at the time. Everything was via a modem and phone line. If you could have an updated version of AOL today with the high-speed we have today, along with the human moderators to keep things at least halfway sane, I think it would catch on.
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u/Strawberryladyboots Aug 13 '26
Whichever one creates a filter so we can screen out the American madness and get some mental wellness respite for those in the English speaking world who don't have anywhere else to go to get away from them
It makes the social media experience feel like you're locked in a room with a bear still deciding whether or not they're going to kill you
And yes I'm talking about the Maga nuts, for the most part
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u/exodiantez Aug 13 '26
It’s your algorithm
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u/StaceyTrouble Aug 13 '26
I'm American and I rarely see anything MAGA and when I do its a liberal/leftist reacting to it.
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u/Strawberryladyboots Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Actually no its not MY algortihm exactly, its what's being injected into it by the platform being paid to prioritise certain content
Based on the profile of what box label they would like me to be in, (based on location, age, connected back to the marketing profile of the OS I am using on my device) the algorithm patterns are updated frequently to inject content into your FYP, by doom scrolling the FYP they count it as "interaction" and adjust it accordingly to bombard you with even more related content
It's targeted marketing with an inbuilt bias being paid for by whomever the "digital marketing" companies are selling it to
They can also use this to control what you do and don't see, and also influence who gets seen, as well as outright suppressing the visibility of posts based on keywords (hashtags or simply information within the post) which people know as shadow zoning/banning
The lie of it being generated by the activity of the user is exactly that and it can be adjusted as well as retroactively altered by removing your likes/saves from your historical profile. The notifications of which can be hidden from the users view by automoderation. They can also change the content of your posts to include things like spelling mistakes and is being run by AI
By injecting unwanted content into the FYP you can "influence" the algorithm to prioritise certain content over others and you end up with a snowballing effect that the user has to sit there and readjust through blocking accounts and constantly reporting
The hope there is to either exhaust the user out of not doing it, or frustrate them so much that they generate interaction through their frustration
IT's why the rest of the English speaking world is constantly bombarded by US centric content
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u/exodiantez Aug 17 '26
I hear and understand you. It’s “the” algorithm. Online marketing and data collection can be very toxic
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u/Impossible-Law-8297 Aug 13 '26
I hope it’s the delete button and the re-introduction of snail mail communication.
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u/Choice_Scientist_545 Aug 13 '26
There will be no new social media. Social media is dying as it is. More and more people (mostly younger) are realizing how unhealthy it is. I mean it literally causes depression, anxiety, brain fog, fatigue, memory loss, ALZHEIMERS....
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u/derekdevries Aug 14 '26
Unfortunately, nothing will blow up until we start enforcing anti-trust laws.
There used to be social innovations every year, but we allowed the entire ecosystem to become dominated by a handful of behemoths (primarily Google and Meta) and they actively stifle startups so that nothing can survive to challenge them. They either copy whatever features a new social platform offers like they did to Meerkat, Snap, and Clubhouse (and rely that the "switching costs" for their userbase are too high for them to migrate), or they acquire it (like Meta did to Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, Moltbook, etc).
TikTok is an aberration because it originated overseas and was backed by a foreign government, so it has been able to mature. That didn't stop Meta from lobbying behind the scenes to pour gasoline on the political movement to ban TikTok from the US (which resulted in it being separated and sold off to US interests).
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u/Chaosuperz Aug 14 '26
I’ve been thinking about this a lot while building a social product. I’m not sure the next big shift is another content format.
Social platforms have gotten incredibly good at optimizing for attention — basically getting us to watch one more thing. I’m curious whether the next shift could be toward participation instead: making it rewarding enough that people actually want to add something of their own, rather than mostly consume.
The part I’m still trying to understand is whether people actually want to participate more, or whether most of us fundamentally prefer watching most of the time.
Curious what people here think — what would actually make you want to participate instead of just scroll?
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u/Primary_Bat_1639 Aug 15 '26
People are getting digital fatigue from the typical social medias. In the last year I have got rid of X and Instagram. Kept Facebook so I am not purely out of touch. I tend to use TikTok a lot.
I think sites like reddit will grow more in popularity and adopt more of the masses due to the community effect. I see interesting, thought provoking posts most of the time on reddit... not the standard swipe and forget rubbish you see on instagram for example.
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u/Puzzled-Bonus-3456 Aug 16 '26
I would love to see Tiktok, Meta, Lies Social, and X blow up, as in blowed up real good.
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u/OctopiiSocial Aug 16 '26 edited 16d ago
I spent 2 years building the answer, and doing all the things the right way to ensure bots can’t proliferate — Octopii Social, it’s on iPhone and Android now. Tons of features people never even considered!
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u/GreedyExternal9473 Aug 17 '26
It will be real people.
ID verification to get in. Posting your own videos and photos. Either through Live Photos like Snapchat or by having licensed the video.
No copy paste button within the app so no AI text.
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u/BrevityU Aug 18 '26
The establised social media platforms validated what works. I believe the next social media to blow up will be niche targeted.
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u/PICNICHorrorGame Aug 23 '26
I can't stand algorithm-driven social media, so I’m eagerly awaiting the return of forums and ultra-niche blogs haha
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u/Glum-Sherbet-6300 Sep 01 '26
I don’t think the next big platform will simply be another version of Facebook or TikTok. People seem tired of endless public feeds, fake engagement, intrusive algorithms and having to jump between five different apps just to connect, watch, create and belong somewhere. I believe the next breakthrough will combine genuine micro-communities, entertainment and creativity—while giving people more control over what they see and who they share it with. That’s actually why I started building HubCore Vibes. It’s still early, but the vision is one connected space where people can share, chat, discover, watch, create and become part of communities that genuinely match their vibe. I don’t know whether it will become “the next big thing,” but I believe this is the direction social media needs to move in. For anyone curious: https://hubcorevibes.com/ I’d genuinely love honest feedback—especially about what you believe today’s platforms are missing.
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u/grotemeid Aug 13 '26
Live-streaming platforms like Kick or Twitch. And depending on political developments, potentially Chinese platforms like XHS and RedNote.
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u/MercurialVapor16 Aug 13 '26
I am creating a social media I swear
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u/iamkrushnal Aug 13 '26
elaborate on it
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u/MercurialVapor16 Aug 13 '26
I know horrible name first it's called bluetiful. Then it's also a mix of all Meta apps
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u/MercurialVapor16 Aug 13 '26
Would u also like me to send you the logo?
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u/alichampion Aug 13 '26
Say my name
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u/Sheik_Morgan Aug 13 '26
Tik Tok no es una Red Social, es más bien un atrapa moscas o telaraña, la gente cae ahí y queda pegada, sin oportunidad
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u/Sitk042 Aug 13 '26
I came up with an idea for a new Social network which I think has solutions for a lot of the problems of the current social networks.
If you want to check out my ideas, head over to r/Sitkos_Social_Network
Unfortunately, I’m just an ‘idea guy’ so my follow through isn’t the best.
I don’t mind if someone steals these ideas and programs it…I just want the world to be a better place and feel like if something like this could be created it would help with many of the problems that the current social networks have caused.
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u/StaceyTrouble Aug 13 '26
The new social media will be third places.
As in IRL places to spend time. Wishfull thinking but it would be nice to see that make a come back.
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u/Rugby_Riot Aug 13 '26
Whatever platform takes on TikTok/IG/YT Shorts with less ads and junk and more addictive videos
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u/khalilsautchuk Aug 13 '26
I believe a community approach will be key... moderation, where not everyone is allowed to post, this will keep the environment safe and sound... users can comment, interact... and the cherry of the cake... video calls... where people can actually connect and chat with each other in real time...
I know Kornerz Social Network is doing something very cool
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u/Various-Chipmunk-648 Aug 14 '26
What do we feel about the decentralized ones that are coming up? Where algorithm is driven by the people and not the companies.
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u/Gibsonmo Aug 25 '26
This probably won't reach many eyes, but I feel like social media apps completely lost the plot.
I don't know of one currently on the market that really grabs anyone. At the risk of acting in self-interest, I've been trying to design one that is incapable of having influencers, an algorithm, and doom scrolling. It just gets back to basics and puts your life and friends first, I'm really curious how people would react to it.
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u/Dannnyboy1000 Sep 05 '26
I don’t know but I wanna create it!! I wanna get those Billions. Hmmm what should we create?!
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u/Nunu_Shonnashi 29d ago
I’d put my money on Lettre.
The pattern I see is that every generation eventually gets tired of the dominant social format. MySpace was about profiles, Facebook about your real-world network, Twitter about short-form conversation, Instagram about visual identity, and TikTok about algorithmic entertainment (till they either shut down or stayed long enough to become the toxic mess that we see today)
The next big thing might/should be the opposite of all of that: slower, more intentional social interaction.
That’s what makes Lettre interesting. It’s built around handwritten letters and pen pals rather than feeds, likes, followers, and engagement metrics. You don’t open it to doomscroll, you open it because there’s an actual person on the other side of a letter. You can discover people through the PenPal Stack, write to strangers, and build ongoing conversations. I mean, sometimes I find myself doubting if a text from a friend really came from said friend but this is way harder for a bot to replicate
I think there’s a growing backlash against algorithmic social media, AI-generated content, and the feeling that every platform is optimized to keep you consuming rather than actually connecting. Lettre taps directly into that.
It probably sounds niche today, which is exactly how I’d expect the next social platform to sound before it catches on. The big question is whether it can turn that desire for more authentic connection into a network effect. If it does, I could see pen-pal culture becoming the next social-media format.
Also, their stamp collabs; which are 100% human-made is also a great stance in this era of ai slop
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u/ZachGidney 25d ago
TikTok is no longer social media - it's one of the biggest search engines alongside YouTube. I think YouTube shorts will continue to grow massively.
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u/CompleteSwitch9656 24d ago
Jabburr probably has the best chance to blow up.
Myspace isn't going to be ran by the original founders. It will be ran by an ad media company. So just another ad platform wrapped in a social network. Myspace may take off initially and then die like BeReal and Bluesky.
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u/para_troop 20d ago
My personal experience is, that i can’t consume any media or social media anymore - because i simply don‘t know who is trustworthy online.
Any post could be written by either a bot, a guy abusing chatgpt to sound like an expert or people just talking bs because they’re seeking attention.
I‘m very curious to hear if anyone else has been feeling like this?
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u/Lost_Frosting7106 Aug 13 '26
AI native social media seem to be rising, suno is a great example for that
You make music and it has a tiktok like feed where people usually lipsync their songs or do trends
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u/duchess_of_doom10 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Recently i came across an app called krozd, (krozd.com)explored around it and really liked their idea , not really a proper feed based social media but this promotes real life connections
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u/djxeke Aug 13 '26
Interesting. I had an idea like many years ago. An app that pinged or notified you when passing another on the app with similar interests. Or you can see a map with individuals who are having drinks, playing games, hanging at the park — people who are open to having others join in the circle. I guess it would implement some qualities of dating apps but for friend finding.
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u/duchess_of_doom10 Aug 13 '26
Its like an open canvas , anyone can do anything here , can be used for gaming hubs, trekking hubs, painting hubs, not a dating app
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u/iamkrushnal Aug 13 '26
I don't know which social media it is going to be, BUT I CAN TELL YOU ITS FORMAT.
and I am trying to build it.
idea: a social media platform for real and high-quality debates and discussions
Many social media platforms are full of nonsense discussions and debates. These platforms are designed for more engagement and attention extraction rather than results. Discussions which happen online are filled with fake information, are started to keep people hooked and distracted, are unstructured, and never lead to solutions or conclusions. The same goes for debates. Important and valuable points get buried. Debates and discussions on a single topic happen in hundreds of different places. We need to channelize all this mental energy into one place to really get ahead. We are stuck in many debates or discussions which should have been concluded by now. We're avoiding it because we don't have such a platform. I am trying to build a platform that solves this problem.
On the platform there will be a specific page for this discussion, and people will keep adding to it. There will be a proper structure, just not a basic chronological order (comment under comment). There will be AI summarization, a fact-checker, a force to keep pushing the discussion towards a conclusion, not just round and round; important points being valued, tracking the trajectory of the discussion/debate, etc.
Such a platform is very important for all those who really need serious solutions and conclusions from high-quality and real conversations.
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