Social media’s influence on countless aspects of our lives becomes more evident daily. Statista estimates that over five billion people used social media in 2024. The number will likely exceed six billion by 2028. Many rely on these channels to engage with the community, receive product and service recommendations, and share life updates.
Understandably, businesses worldwide have taken to social media with equal enthusiasm. They use these digital mediums to connect to their target audiences and communicate their messaging in more organic, enjoyable ways. The rise of AI has only made this process more tailored and individualistic.
Considering the pace of progress in this sphere, we anticipate plenty of changes in the social media landscape in the next decade.
1. Artificial Intelligence is Getting Brainier
It seems unbelievable that AI started to feel like a force capable of transforming the masses only around 2023. Social media channels have embraced it with a passion, using AI generously for everything, from content personalization to customer service.
In April 2025, Meta launched its AI app to help users enjoy more personalized conversations and recommendations. It remembers your preferences–like the foods you relish–and learns from context. Recently, TikTok also joined the revolution, launching TikTok AI Alive to convert images to short-form videos.
In the future, these developments seem set to continue. The situation has become fiercely competitive, so not adopting AI would be a strategic mistake. However, one hopes social media companies exercise balance and caution in these endeavors, not compromising data privacy or falling into ethical potholes.
For example, what if an AI model delivers biased and prejudiced results because of improper training? Using skewed data can lead companies to make discriminatory business decisions. How safe is sharing personal images with AI tools that promise confidentiality but do not deliver?
The recent Ghibli craze and the controversy around it is a warning bell. Responsible social media firms will have to inspire confidence among their users that their sensitive data is safe and not a mere input for an AI model in training.
The apprehension of the growing sentience of AI is another factor—can these models now perceive pleasure, pain, and other feelings? A Scientific American study feels we cannot rule out the possibility of AI sentience, especially with LLMs or large language models. Consequently, social media applications relying on artificial intelligence may have a lot at stake.
2. Companies Are Taking Care to Protect Younger Users
Another change (and an uplifting one at that) is increasing regard for the interests of younger social media users. A Pew Research study found that excessive social media use connects to mental health consequences in teenagers. Almost half of the respondents felt that such sites affect people negatively.
Some parents and child development experts feel that platforms like Snapchat promote body dysmorphia and set unrealistic expectations for teenagers. Many parents have even filed a Snapchat lawsuit, holding the company responsible for their children’s mental health issues.
Many social media firms have come forward to address these risks by launching thoughtful interventions for teenagers. Instagram launched “Teen Accounts,” which aim to protect users from problematic content and limit features like live streaming. TikTok has started bedtime popups that ask users to turn away after 10:00 p.m. The intention is to stop doom scrolling and loss of sleep.
Less reassuringly, these upgrades have a long way to go to create a significant impact. For instance, Instagram teen account users still receive recommendations for objectionable content. Some industry watchdogs have conducted investigative studies to find whether Instagram’s security settings for teens actually work. Unfortunately, many feeds still showed content linked to eating disorders and body image inadequacies.
According to TorHoerman Law, many parents are seeking accountability and compensation for the emotional harm their kids have faced due to unrestrained social media use. How many of these protective measures we now see are in retaliation and not deeply felt by the firm in question?
Even so, these steps do indicate a growing, community-wide need to safeguard young and impressionable social media users.
3. Social Media Marketing Has Become Smarter
With the evolution of social media platforms, marketing on them is also changing rapidly. It has become more astute and targeted. It now reaches precise audiences, delivering promising results that compel most businesses to include social media in their communication plans. Surveys indicate that video is the most crucial content type in most digital marketing campaigns.
The use of different formats stands out here: short-form videos are perhaps the best-selling content on social media. The approach is dramatically different from conventional advertising. These videos must capture attention within a limited timeframe and deal with the threat of losing the user at any time.
The modern world has numerous distractions. The scenario gets exacerbated by a competitive business landscape where everyone vies for a potential customer’s attention. The next shiny video is only a scroll away.
As businesses deepen their understanding of digital media, marketers can expect even better results in reach and conversion. Spending time learning the algorithms of various platforms will help firms maximize the visibility of their content. Social listening tools are becoming more popular for their vital role in revealing the audience’s opinions and perceptions.
Authenticity has also emerged as a concrete theme in social media marketing. With audiences becoming more informed, brands prioritize relatability, even if it means picking a micro-influencer over someone with a more sizable following. Followers of committed influencers are likely to be more invested and willing to try new products due to inherent trust. Careful collaborations can avoid hard-selling and encourage organic growth that stands the test of time.
4. Unique Channels and Content Formats Are in the Pipeline
As a social media user, one can expect new content formats to become popular in the coming years. The success of short-form videos has inspired many marketers to experiment with quizzes, polls, and infographics. The underlying commonality is an ease of sharing—a desire to tell people in your circle.
Podcasts are also enjoying popularity on social media, as are webinars. During the isolating global pandemic, many people turned to the audio format for content consumption. It was background noise and a convenient way to multitask while attending to other chores.
One can expect podcasts to continue their popularity run. However, users will require discretion to identify fake podcasts, which have become a veritable nuisance. The Conversation observes how the technique has become a recognized marketing strategy, complete with LinkedIn guides. As a social media user, it is best to search for a clear link to the original recording to identify a fake podcast.
Like formats, new channels have also been mushrooming, trying to drive community engagement in many unique ways. Hootsuite highlights some of them, like Noplace for short text updates and RedNote for marketers. While few of these channels may ever achieve the phenomenal success of TikTok or Instagram, they make the future more thrilling for connected audiences.
5. The Fact Versus Fiction Debate is Getting Trickier
Perhaps one of the most far-reaching changes in social media is how it has complicated the process of separating fact from fiction. Large sections of the audience still believe in the veracity of online updates without question. Users who are not technology natives may lack a natural apprehension toward everything they see online.
This tradeoff is only getting murkier amid Deepfakes and fake news circulating on social media.
Recent studies indicate how the internet is rife with manipulative social media content, scam emails, and Deepfakes in audio or video formats. The problem becomes more concerning in the wake of recent political turbulence globally.
BBC reported last year how many TikTok users faced an onslaught of misinformed election-related content in the UK. The company had to launch a dedicated election center and use AI-labelling technology.
Fortunately, it does seem that people largely recognize the need to receive social media content with a pinch of salt. A Jumio survey indicates that almost 70 percent of users are more skeptical of online content than earlier. Around 37 percent still believe in the authenticity of digital content, trusting news and facts with greater fervor.
Social media companies are slowly taking more responsibility to weed out fake, misleading content on their platforms. For example, Meta claims to use third-party organizations and community notes contributors for fact-checking. One can hope for increased investment in such efforts to maintain a trustworthy online environment that empowers, not misleads.
Staying abreast of expected changes in social media technologies is crucial for users, marketers, and businesses. The magnitude of impact is immense, which makes it an ethical responsibility to differentiate lopsided from meaningful content.
Only time will tell how social media evolution will shape the world in the future, but one thing is definite: It will be an exciting ride.