Social media is the new television
I’ve forgotten what it’s like to log onto Instagram and interact with posts created by my friends: looking at photos taken by my brother in Prague with the girls or commenting on my colleague’s year-in-review carousel. Today, in fact, you’re immediately bombarded with content from creators, sponsorships, and suggestions based on what you looked at the day before.
Social media has become less social and more media. In this article, I want to talk about this paradigm shift: an evolution that, paradoxically, is not a decline, but a possible return to conviviality, interaction, and the people you know.
What are the new keywords to follow for 2026? The goal of existing on social channels with your brand to grow online remains central. No social media manager or digital marketer will tell you that social media is dead, and they are right. Although data shows that Gen Z is using social media less and less, being there will be even more important and natural.
If 2025 was the year SEO ‘died’ at least a dozen times, 2026 could make social media seem a little pale, simply because it is different from usual. Please remember this article when that thought comes to mind.
Old social media vs. new social media
Until recently, each social media platform was distinctly different from the others: if you chose to spend your time on Instagram, you had one intention; on TikTok, another; and on Subreddit, yet another. Distinct channels for distinct intentions. Creating content wasn’t necessarily easier, but it was certainly more targeted and faster.
Today, we live in a continuous and confusing stream. On Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, content tends to be the same, with video as the preferred format and FYP (For You Page) content as the most successful.
If the first thing you see on YouTube is Shorts, or if you’re one of the few on IG who is testing the feed that leads directly to Reels, you know what I mean.
As mentioned, it’s increasingly difficult to find content created by your friends, as it was in the beginning. And all of this video content, or most of it that grabs your attention, is often identical and follows the same logic. What is it? You’ll find out in the next paragraph.
Clipping: from Hollywood to TikTok
You may not be familiar with the FX sitcom Adults, but you’ve probably seen a few clips on TikTok. Why? A producer of the series hired 22-year-old Max Peterson and his network of young clippers with a minimal budget to create thousands of micro-episodes that were cut, edited, and distributed as “narrative snacks” on social media. The result: 2,400 clips and 40 million views. An unknown series suddenly became recognizable.
It is, in essence, a parallel season distributed by algorithms.
Social media began to treat each piece of content like a TV series, and in the same way, we began to watch them as our new streaming service: in seasons, interrupted only by scrolling.
By announcing that you would discover the logic of success in the next paragraph, I created an “episode,” a “part 2,” which you came to see because you are now accustomed to the way creators produce content. The feed is no longer a random stream, but a continuous season in which users recognize formats.
Brands themselves are becoming real television networks, creating products that mainly reach Gen Z on platforms: this is the future of marketing.
According to Nielsen data, in May, streaming reached 44.8% of total TV usage in the United States, with YouTube alone accounting for 12.5% of total viewing.
Television, therefore, is becoming a fluid concept, shifting to smartphones and different platforms. In addition, digital creators are surpassing traditional media in terms of advertising revenue: revenue for creators is estimated to grow by +20%, with a market that could exceed $376 billion by 2030.
Where do people get their information?
For those who have been doing SEO for years or work in the digital world, this evolution did not come as a bolt from the blue, but was gradual and predictable.
Just as the arrival of AI was not a sudden event for those in the industry, the evolution of social media has also found those who work with it every day perfectly immersed in the change.
Just think that SEO a few years ago, reserved only for the indexing of a website, now has a huge market share on social media as well. Those who are not yet working on a multi-channel strategy are losing ground not only today, but will continue to do so tomorrow.
We are facing an evolution of information, not a passing fad. The results of the Eurobarometer survey show that 42% of young Europeans between the ages of 16 and 30 turn to social media for political and social news, with teenagers leading the way at 45%.
It is true that TV in Italy remains the main source of information, because we are tied to traditions, but the future is in the hands of young people and it is a smartphone.
Less social, more human
Have you noticed that the content that works best on social media channels is the most human content, which tells something about the brand, goes behind the scenes, and introduces the people behind the business? This phenomenon can be summed up perfectly in the phrase: social media was becoming less social and more media, and now the most popular trend is shifting in a more human direction.
If I log into my channels and no longer find content from my friends, I want the creators I follow to become friends in some way. For this reason, people are looking for micro-communities and intimate, personal, and empathetic content that encourages interaction with the creator or brand. It is no coincidence that the most popular interaction on Instagram is direct messaging.
If TV stole our colors, social media stole our interactions. We are moving towards a quieter Internet, based on trust, care, and real connection. The brands that will win will not be the loudest, but those that build worlds where people want to return on purpose.
Social media as a smoking habit
If everyone wants to use social media less, and they do, will it die?
Let’s return to the main question of this article, to which I answer decisively: no, it won’t die.
To make the new social media even more understandable, the analogy with smoking can help. Let’s imagine opening social media as a cigarette break: it’s something we do to relax or out of habit. In the short time it has existed, social media has already had quite noticeable effects.
Social media is our “last Zeno cigarette.” Young people’s aversion to using it is analogous to the fact that traditional cigarettes are no longer perceived as “interesting,” with consumption at an all-time low, while e-cigarettes and similar products are becoming increasingly popular. The habit is the same, the method is different.
The world of social media is leaving behind aesthetic content, curated feeds, and glossy descriptions. The way we experience social media today, with its community-focused content and platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, is our electronic cigarette.
Who are you when no one is watching?
Being on social media today, if you have a brand or are a creator, is in some ways easier than in the past. Just ask yourself “who am I when no one is watching?” and, paradoxically, show it online.
It’s a way of baring your soul, an exercise in self-esteem, and a marketing strategy that works because it appeals not only to users but also to search engines and AI. By getting to know you and your brand better, they can pigeonhole you into a system that can respond promptly when a user searches for you or your services and products.
Although we are moving towards denser information, longer dwell times, and more substantial content, we are still in 2025.
Here is a brief summary:
- Social media has become less social and more media.
- With Gen Z, this trend is reversing: we are returning to increasingly social, human, and interaction-oriented content. Micro-communities are the result.
- Video content still reigns supreme, but only if it is presented in a Netflix-style episodic format.
- Information is shifting to platforms: more and more people are looking for content on politics, philosophy, and current affairs on social media channels.
- SEO has become crucial for these platforms too: today, growing online means being findable wherever the user searches.
