Twitter – CTRSpace

5 Reasons That Social Media May Never Die

Posted on February 24, 2025 by Louie Baur

“Never” is a bold word. It is absolute and endless. To say that something can never happen is one of the most ignorant things that someone can say (or blog) in public. Thankfully, I tempered my statement with the word, “may”.

“Impossible” is a word that is similar to “never”. I’ll invoke it now, social media can continue in one form or another indefinitely because of its nature. As long as there are humans, there’s a good chance that there will be some variation in social media. It’s a hard cat to put back in the bag.

The folks over at Techi team put together a graphic that explains five valid reasons why social media continues to grow in influence. All five reasons lend credence to the concept that as long as humans inhabit the earth and barring a major catastrophe that cuts us all off from one another, social media will play a role.

Influence of Social Media

Though social media was previously regarded as a means of communicating in daily life, it has subsequently been incorporated into modern society. It goes beyond personal attachments and enters the business arena, dictating how people share information, consume information, and make decisions. As long as there are human beings to interact and entertain, social media keeps on transforming, thus somberly hinting that it is far from fading away.

Here are five primary reasons social media will continue to be relevant into 2025 and beyond.

1. It’s Ubiquitous

With billions of users logging on every day, social media platforms have practically become an irrefutable avenue. As of 2025, the approximate active monthly users counted on major platforms are as follows:

Facebook: 4.1 Billion users
YouTube: 8.7 Billion users
Instagram: 4.7 Billion users
TikTok: 757.5 Million users
LinkedIn: 565.1 Million users
X, formerly Twitter: 858.9 Million users
Pinterest: 1.4 Billion users
Reddit: 1.2 Billion

With short-form video content, AI-led interactivity, and metaverse collaborations grabbing the highest-ever engagement, the introduction of AR and VR features further ensures that social media remains a prime selling point in digital interaction. Platforms like Meta’s Horizon Worlds and TikTok’s user-driven video curation are reconstructing user engagement with content.

At the same time, new social media sites are continuously being developed, and AI-enabled social apps are rapidly gaining traction among the younger population. The outcome shows that social media keeps pace as technology changes, enabling it to be a permanent fixture in people’s lives.

2. It’s Time-Consuming

As social media gains more attention, the time users are willing to spend on it is steadily increasing. In 2025, users spend, on average:

TikTok: 95 minutes
YouTube: 78 minutes
Instagram: 65 minutes
Facebook: 58 minutes
X (formerly Twitter): 34 minutes
LinkedIn: 7 minutes

(Source: 250+ Social Media Statistics…)

Content that is increasingly personalized to users’ preferences is being delivered nowadays by AI-based recommendation engines through social media more than ever before. These include continuous scrolling, auto-play videos, and algorithm-driven engagement loops, which are becoming social media site attractions that are challenging to break away from.

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) also affects this phenomenon. The fear of being out of the loop on trending topics, viral challenges, and breaking news helps to engage customers, particularly through Instagram and Snapchat, in their ephemeral messaging (stories and reels) offering.

With an ever-evolving innovation on the part of social media firms to grab attention, audiences are more engaged than ever, further entrenching the relevance of these platforms in daily life.

3. It’s Habit-Forming

Social media is a full-blown habit for billions and has transcended a mere pastime. A survey of 5,000 users revealed:

Users spend an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes per day on social media.
73% felt anxious if they had not checked notifications in a few hours.
61% confessed to checking messages even during intimate or important occasions.
58% scrolling social media to pass the time while eating.

Such habitual behavior is primarily reinforced by dopamine-fueled feedback loops, granting
instant gratification through likes, comments, and notifications. The design of social media platforms in conjunction with AI-driven personalization has become an incredible feature, enhancing user engagement and retention.

The advances in AI chatbot design, disseminating virtual influencers and algorithmically trained feeds, have cemented addiction. Today, users depend on social networking platforms not just for amusement but also for news, communication, shopping, and work networking.

The more social media embeds into a person’s regular activity, the more likely it becomes next to impossible for him or her to turn away from; that would safeguard it from going away.

4. It Influences Life Outside

What is social media? Have you ever found it as a mirror of truth? Actually, social media influences people to boycott their outside activities. Compared to that of non-active users, socially active users are:

3.5 times more likely to attend a live event (concerts, sports, festivals, etc.).
2.8 times more likely to engage in fitness fads and post their workouts online.
2.2 times more likely to make a purchase decision based on an influencer in social media.
2 times more likely to discuss political and social matters in the news.
1.8 times more likely to take part in local events or activities advocating for any issue.

The influencer marketing boom has opened avenues for reliance on social media for many people looking for product recommendations, fitness motivation, or even career advice. TikTok and Instagram have churned out megatrends in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle today.

Moreover, social media is increasingly shaping activism. From climate action initiatives to political campaigns, people use it to organize communities, disseminate messages, and affect changes in real life.

How social media influences offline behavior means that it continues to have a lasting impact on society.

5: It Helps Business Growth

Now in times more than ever, brands rely on social media, meaning it’s one of the most effective ways within which businesses perform their activities in advertising, interaction with customers, and revenue collection.

By 2025:

40% will find products to buy thanks to seeing an advertisement on social media or by an influencer. Most businesses generate most of their leads through platforms like LinkedIn 89%, Instagram 61%, and TikTok 47%. In 2025, social commerce would see $2.2 trillion in global sales. Customer retention has risen by 40% due to AI-enabled chatbots and personalized recommendations.

Social media are not only places for brand awareness but also e-commerce sites. With shoppable posts, live-stream shopping, and AI-driven product recommendations, businesses can sell directly through social apps and not direct users elsewhere, like other websites.

Therefore, AI-powered customer service chatbots have made it possible to have less communication between businesses and consumers with better speed and customer satisfaction.

Whether a local or a multinational corporation, all continue to view social media as one of the major channels to be able to advertise, engage, and generate income, and thus, its ongoing activity.

Resources:

Also Read: 17 Amazing Facts About Wikipedia

Meta & X Approved Anti-Muslim Hate Speech Ads Before German Election, Study Reveals

Posted on February 22, 2025 by ctrspace

A recent study by the German digital rights organization Eko has revealed that Meta and X (formerly Twitter) approved advertisements containing violent anti-Muslim and antisemitic hate speech ahead of Germany’s federal election on February 23, 2025. These findings raise significant concerns about the platforms’ content moderation practices and their potential impact on the electoral process.

Eko’s investigation involved submitting deliberately harmful political ads to Meta and X to assess their ad approval systems. Alarmingly, X approved all 10 of the submitted hate speech ads, while Meta approved five out of ten, despite both companies’ policies prohibiting such content. Some ads featured AI-generated imagery depicting hateful narratives without disclosing their artificial origin. Meta’s policies require such disclosures for social issues, elections, or political ads, yet half of these undisclosed AI-generated ads were still approved.

Elon Musk’s Involvement in German Politics

In addition to platform-specific issues, Elon Musk, the owner of X, has actively engaged in Germany’s political discourse. In December 2024, Musk tweeted, ‘Only the AfD can save Germany,’ expressing support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party. He also hosted a live stream with AfD leader Alice Weidel on X, providing the party with a significant platform during the election period.

The Digital Services Act and EU Investigations

In addition, Meta failed to enforce its own AI content policies. Some of the submitted ads contained AI-generated imagery depicting hateful narratives, yet Meta approved half of these without requiring disclosure that AI was used—a direct contradiction to its policy mandating transparency for AI-generated political content.

“Our findings suggest that Meta’s AI-driven ad moderation systems remain fundamentally broken, despite the Digital Services Act (DSA) now being in full effect“.

Eko has submitted its findings to the European Commission, which oversees the DSA’s enforcement. The organization argues that neither Meta nor X fully comply with the act’s hate speech and ad transparency provisions. This aligns with Eko’s prior investigation in 2023, which similarly found Meta approving harmful ads despite the DSA’s impending implementation.

“Rather than strengthening its ad review process or hate speech policies, Meta appears to be backtracking across the board,” an Eko spokesperson said. The statement points to Meta’s recent decisions to scale back its fact-checking and moderation policies, which they argue could place the company in direct violation of the DSA.

Potential Penalties Under the DSA

Violations of the DSA could lead to significant penalties, including fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual revenue. If systemic non-compliance is proven, regulators could even impose temporary access restrictions on platforms within the EU. However, the EU has yet to finalize its decisions on Meta and X, leaving the possibility of enforcement actions uncertain.

Civil Society Organizations Raise Alarm Over Election Security

With Germany’s election imminent, digital rights groups warn that the DSA has not provided adequate protection against tech-driven election manipulation. A separate study from Global Witness found that algorithmic feeds on X and TikTok favor AfD content over other political parties. Researchers have also accused X of limiting data access, preventing independent studies on election-related misinformation—despite the DSA requiring platform transparency.

“Big Tech will not clean up its platforms voluntarily,” Eko’s spokesperson stated. “Regulators must take strong action—both in enforcing the DSA and implementing pre-election mitigation measures.”

Will Regulators Step In Before the Election?

As German voters prepare to go to the polls, pressure is mounting on EU regulators to act swiftly to prevent further disinformation and hate speech from spreading online. Despite calls for intervention, neither Meta nor X has publicly responded to Eko’s latest findings. With election integrity at stake, the question remains: Will Meta and X adjust their policies in response to regulatory pressure, or will the EU take more decisive action to enforce compliance?

X Blocks Signal Links – A Threat to Digital Freedom and Privacy?

Posted on February 19, 2025 by ctrspace

X (formerly Twitter) has ignited controversy by blocking links to Signal.me, a domain linked to the widely used encrypted messaging app Signal. Users attempting to share these links are met with error messages suggesting they are spam or potentially harmful. However, links to Signal.org remain unaffected, leading to concerns that this selective restriction is an intentional move against encrypted communication rather than a broad moderation policy.

Why Is X Targeting Signal?

Signal has built a reputation as a go-to app for private messaging, relied upon by activists, journalists, and government officials seeking secure conversations. The app’s end-to-end encryption makes it an essential tool in an era where digital surveillance is an increasing concern.

Cybersecurity expert Matthew Green, a cryptography professor at Johns Hopkins University, expressed skepticism about X’s justification for blocking Signal links: “Blocking Signal links under the guise of ‘spam prevention’ is highly suspect. It’s hard not to see this as an attempt to make secure communication harder for people who rely on it.”

This move comes amid X’s history of restricting links to competing platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon. However, Signal is not a direct competitor to X—it’s a private communication tool, not a social networking platform. So why would X take issue with Signal?

A Crackdown on Whistleblowers?

Some analysts believe this could be part of a broader effort to limit whistleblower activity, particularly among federal employees who have been increasingly using Signal to communicate privately about internal government matters. Reports indicate that employees in various agencies, including those under Elon Musk’s oversight, have turned to Signal to discuss concerns regarding internal policies, inefficiencies, and alleged misconduct.

Musk has previously hinted at developing his own encrypted messaging service within X, leading some to speculate whether this move is intended to direct users toward X’s own proprietary communication tools instead of an independent and secure platform like Signal.

What’s Next for Digital Privacy?

X Blocks Signal Links a worrying shift in digital communication policies. If X can arbitrarily suppress access to privacy-focused tools, what’s stopping other platforms from doing the same? Social media platforms have evolved into public communication spaces, and restricting encrypted messaging services could have widespread implications for journalists, activists, and privacy-conscious individuals.

For now, X has not officially commented on whether this block is intentional or a technical oversight. Users looking to share their Signal contacts will have to resort to workarounds, such as sharing usernames directly. However, the lack of transparency raises an important question.