Social media is doomed to die by Ellis Hamburger

Ellis Hamburger, a former Snapchat employee, argues that social media apps are doomed to drift away from their original purpose of connecting friends because of their dependence on investors and advertisers. He points to Snapchat's push notification asking users to wish a friend happy birthday as a sign that the app had adopted growth tactics it once rejected. He writes that Snapchat Stories was intended from the start to include ads, and he says users also contribute to the cycle by favoring broadcasting and growing their friend lists. He suggests newer apps and protocols, such as Mastodon, Locket and BeReal, may offer a different path, though the article notes investors have little interest in small-scale social products.