Why Every Social Media Platform Is Blending Into One Big Mush

Illustration: Joel BenjaminLast week, like a lot of people, I idly went to check my notifications on Instagram. Instead, I was taken straight to the app’s shopping feature. I was confused. The buttons had been moved around and my muscle memory had led me into a trap. When I went to post, a similar thing happened. The button took me to Reels, a newish 15-second video clip carousel feature. I didn’t want to go on Reels. I didn’t want to go shopping, either. In 2020, our social media apps have been inching ever closer together. Back in May, Instagram rolled out Instagram Shop, which closely resembles the reseller app Depop in style and functionality. In August came Reels, which is basically their version of TikTok. Then on the 17th of November, Twitter launched Fleets, which is almost no different to Instagram Stories, which in turn was an old copycat of Snapchat Stories, which was – deep breath – also copied by Facebook Stories. Today, you can basically use all apps for the same things. Without sounding like a Luddite, this mushing together can feel a bit… jarring, or at least, confusing. Each app used to have its place: Instagram is supposed to be…
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