When Did Social Media Get So Bad? (A Timeline of How We Got Here)

You're Not Imagining It

If you've been using social media since the early days, you've probably felt it:

Something changed.

Instagram used to be photos from friends. Now it's 40% ads and "suggested" content from strangers.

Facebook used to be status updates from people you know. Now it's viral videos and articles you didn't ask for.

Twitter used to be real-time thoughts. Now it's... well, let's not even get into that.

But when did it change? And why?

Was there a specific moment? A series of decisions? A slow creep we didn't notice until it was too late?

I looked at the history. And yes, there were specific moments.

Let me show you exactly when your favorite platforms turned into the attention-stealing, ad-serving, anxiety-inducing machines they are today.

Era 1: The Golden Age (2006-2012)

What Social Media Was

Remember when:

Facebook showed you posts from friends in chronological order?

Instagram was just photos—no Stories, no Reels, no shopping?

Twitter was a reverse-chronological timeline of people you chose to follow?

YouTube didn't have unskippable ads before every video?

This wasn't nostalgia. This was real.

The Facebook Golden Age (2006-2009)

Facebook launched its News Feed in September 2006. Initially controversial (people thought it was "creepy"), it revolutionized social media by bringing content to you instead of making you visit profiles.

But here's the key difference: It was chronological.

When you logged in, you saw:
1. Your friend just updated their status
2. Your college roommate posted photos from last night
3. Your cousin changed their profile picture
4. Your high school friend is now "in a relationship"

In the order these things happened.

The News Feed wasn't curating what you saw. It was just showing you everything, as it occurred.

No algorithm deciding you shouldn't see Sarah's update because you didn't "engage" enough with her last post.

No ads every 4 posts.

Just... your friends. Doing things. In real time.

The Instagram Golden Age (2010-2015)

Instagram launched in October 2010. For the first five years:

Zero ads (Instagram didn't introduce sponsored posts until October 2015)

Chronological feed (you saw photos in the order they were posted)

Just photos (no Stories until 2016, no Reels until 2020)

No algorithm (your feed showed everything from everyone you followed)

The purpose was simple: Share photos with friends.

That's it. No shopping. No suggested accounts. No AI-generated content. Just photos from people you chose to follow, in the order they were posted.

If you logged in at 3pm and your friend posted at 2:45pm, you'd see it.

Imagine that.

What Made This Era Special

Three things defined the Golden Age:

1. Chronological feeds
You saw everything from everyone you followed, in order.

2. No (or minimal) advertising
Facebook had some ads, but they were in a sidebar. Instagram had none. YouTube had one skippable ad before longer videos.

3. No algorithmic curation
The platform didn't decide what you should see. You decided by choosing who to follow.

This created a fundamentally different experience:

You felt connected to people (because you actually saw their updates)

You weren't constantly interrupted by ads

You could catch up and be done (finite feed, not infinite scroll)

Platforms served users, not advertisers

It was social. It was media. It was social media.

Then something changed.

Era 2: The Shift (2013-2016)

The Algorithm Arrives

In 2009, Facebook introduced EdgeRank—the first version of its algorithmic News Feed.

EdgeRank ranked posts based on three factors:
1. Affinity: How often you interact with the poster
2. Weight: Type of content (photos > status updates)
3. Time Decay: How recent the post is

The stated reason: "People were missing important posts from close friends."

The real reason: Ads.

When your feed is algorithmic, Facebook can insert sponsored posts seamlessly between organic content. In a chronological feed, ads stand out. In an algorithmic feed, they blend in.

By 2013, Facebook had moved beyond EdgeRank to a more complex algorithm analyzing over 100,000 factors.

Your "simple" news feed was now being curated by machine learning designed to maximize engagement (which, conveniently, meant more ad views).

Instagram Follows Suit

On March 15, 2016, Instagram announced they were switching to an algorithmic feed.

Their justification:

"By 2016, people were missing 70% of all their posts in Feed, including almost half of posts from their close connections."

Let's unpack this:

Instagram is saying: "You follow too many people, so we're going to decide which posts you should see."

But wait—if I'm missing posts from close connections, why not just show me MORE posts in chronological order?

Why does Instagram get to decide who my "close connections" are?

The answer, as always: Advertising.

An algorithmic feed allows Instagram to:

Insert sponsored posts naturally

Maximize time spent (show you engaging content to keep you scrolling)

Collect more data (your behavior trains the algorithm)

What happened to that "70% of posts people were missing"?

With the algorithmic feed, you now see about 10% of posts from people you follow.

They claimed to solve a problem. They made it worse. But they made a lot more money.

YouTube Cranks Up the Ads

YouTube had ads from early on, but they were reasonable:

One skippable ad before longer videos

No mid-roll ads

Rare enough that they didn't dominate the experience

Around 2015-2016, that changed:

Double ads before videos (two 5-second unskippables instead of one skippable 15-second)

Mid-roll ads inserted automatically

Increasing frequency overall

YouTube Red (now Premium) launched in 2015 with the pitch: "Pay $10/month to remove ads."

Translation: "We're going to make the free experience bad enough that you pay us to make it stop."

What Defined Era 2

This was the transition period:

Algorithms arrived but weren't fully optimized yet

Ads increased but hadn't saturated feeds

People complained but mostly adapted

Platforms experimented with how much they could get away with

The social media companies learned something important: Users would complain, but they wouldn't leave.

So they kept pushing.

Era 3: The Acceleration (2017-2020)

Engagement Becomes Everything

By 2017, all major platforms had fully embraced algorithmic feeds optimized for one metric: engagement.

Not happiness. Not connection. Engagement.

Because engagement means:

More time on platform

More ads viewed

More data collected

More revenue

What drives engagement?

Research shows: Outrage, controversy, and emotional manipulation.

Posts that make you angry, scared, or jealous get more clicks than posts that make you smile. So the algorithms learned to show you more content that provokes strong emotions.

This wasn't a bug. It was the design.

The Infinite Scroll Takes Over

Around 2018-2019, platforms perfected the infinite scroll:

No natural stopping point

Suggested content seamlessly mixed with followed content

Algorithm learns what keeps YOU specifically scrolling

The feed never ends

TikTok perfected this model.

Launched internationally in 2018, TikTok was built from the ground up as an engagement maximization machine:

No chronological feed (you don't even choose who to follow initially)

Videos as short as 6 seconds (rapid dopamine hits)

The algorithm can predict your interests with ~95% accuracy after just 40 minutes of watching

Variable reward timing (slot machine psychology)

Infinite scroll with no way to "catch up"

TikTok proved something terrifying: You don't need friends to have social media.

You just need an algorithm that figures out what you'll watch and never stops feeding it to you.

Other platforms took note.

Instagram Copies TikTok

In 2020, Instagram introduced Reels—a direct TikTok clone.

But it wasn't just adding a feature. Instagram fundamentally changed the platform:

Feed became less chronological

Suggested content increased dramatically

Algorithm pushed Reels heavily

"Following" feed was hidden (had to manually select it each time)

By 2020, Instagram wasn't primarily showing you content from people you follow.

It was showing you content the algorithm thought would keep you engaged.

Your friends were still there. Instagram just wasn't showing you their posts.

YouTube Gets Aggressive

During COVID (2020-2021), YouTube's ad load increased dramatically:

More mid-roll ads

Longer unskippable ads

Multiple ads in a row

Ads on shorter videos that previously had none

By 2024, YouTube announced they were increasing ad frequency even further on embedded videos.

The progression was clear:

2010: One ad every 10+ minutes

2015: One ad every 5 minutes

2020: Multiple ads every 3-5 minutes

2024: Essentially constant ads

What Defined Era 3

The acceleration phase was about optimizing extraction:

Algorithms fully deployed

Engagement maximization prioritized over user wellbeing

Ads saturated feeds

Infinite scroll became default

"Suggested" content outweighed "followed" content

Platforms discovered they could:

Show you less content from friends

Show you more ads

Manipulate your feed to maximize time spent

Collect more behavioral data

And users would stay.

Because where else were they going to go?

Era 4: The Current Mess (2021-Present)

Welcome to the Attention Economy Endgame

This is where we are now.

Let's look at Instagram in 2024:

~40% of feed is ads and sponsored content

~40% is "suggested" content from accounts you don't follow

~10% is posts from people you actually follow (and only if you engage with them regularly)

~10% is Reels/Stories from followed accounts

Read that again: Only about 10-20% of your Instagram experience is content from people you chose to follow. (I tested this myself—counting every ad on Instagram and Facebook for one hour. The results were worse than I expected.)

The rest is Instagram deciding what you should see.

Facebook is similar:

Algorithmic feed prioritizes "engagement" (a.k.a. outrage)

Video content from strangers dominates

Posts from friends buried

Ads and sponsored content everywhere

YouTube in 2024:

Multiple unskippable ads before videos

Mid-roll ads every few minutes

"Suggested" videos increasingly outweigh subscriptions

Algorithm pushes toward longer watch time

TikTok perfected the model:

100% algorithmic (no friends required)

Infinite scroll with no end

Highly addictive by design

Researchers found it can predict your psychology after 40 minutes

U.S. states sued TikTok in 2024 for "design choices that create addictive habits"

The AI Spam Problem

In 2023-2024, AI-generated content flooded social media:

Fake influencer accounts

AI-generated "viral" posts

Bot networks sharing engagement bait

Platforms struggling (or not trying) to remove it

Why?

Because AI-generated content drives engagement. And engagement is what the algorithm rewards.

It doesn't matter if it's real. It matters if you interact with it.

The Mental Health Crisis

The data is now undeniable:

MIT Sloan study: College-wide access to Facebook led to:

7% increase in severe depression

20% increase in anxiety disorder

New York City Department of Health (2024): Heavy social media users are at least three times more likely to have a diagnosis of depression or anxiety.

Gallup poll (2023): U.S. teens spend an average of 4.8 hours per day on social media.

These aren't coincidences.

Platforms designed to maximize engagement optimize for emotional manipulation. Make people feel inadequate → Show them ads for solutions → Extract money.

The algorithm doesn't care if you're happy. It cares if you're engaged.

What Defines the Current Era

We're now in the endgame:

Algorithms completely dominant

Original purpose (connecting with friends) secondary to engagement

Ad saturation normalized

Mental health impacts documented but ignored

AI spam proliferating

No natural stopping points

Platform addiction designed in

And the platforms are doubling down.

In 2024, Instagram tested showing even more suggested content. YouTube increased ad frequency. TikTok faces lawsuits for addictive design but changes nothing.

Because it's working.

For them.

The Side-By-Side Comparison

Let me show you what changed:

Feature	2010	2024
Feed Type	Chronological	Algorithmic
Primary Content	Friends you follow	"Suggested" + Ads
% From Friends	100%	~10-20%
Ads	Rare or none	30-40% of feed
Can You "Finish"?	Yes (caught up)	No (infinite scroll)
Algorithm Decides What You See	No	Yes
Content From Strangers	None (unless you search)	40%+
Natural Stopping Point	Yes	No
Business Model	Growing users	Maximizing engagement
Purpose	Share with friends	Keep you scrolling

Notice the pattern?

Every single change benefits the platform's ad revenue at the expense of your experience.

Why It Won't Get Better

Here's the uncomfortable truth: It's not going to go back to how it was.

Why not?

1. The Business Model Is Locked In

Meta made $164 billion in 2024. YouTube made over $36 billion in ad revenue. TikTok is valued at $150+ billion.

This money comes from ads. Which means it comes from:

Showing you as many ads as possible

Keeping you on the platform as long as possible

Collecting as much data as possible

A chronological, ad-light feed doesn't maximize these metrics.

To go back to the 2010 model, these companies would have to voluntarily reduce revenue by 40-60%.

That's not happening.

2. They Tested Your Limits and You Stayed

Remember when Instagram announced the algorithmic feed in 2016?

There was an outcry. Petitions. Complaints. #RIPInstagram trended.

People threatened to leave.

Almost nobody left.

The platforms learned: Users complain but don't leave. So they can keep pushing.

Every bad change was tested. If it didn't cause mass exodus, it became permanent.

3. Network Effects Are a Moat

Why don't people leave Instagram/Facebook/etc?

"Because that's where everyone is."

This is called a network effect. The platform is valuable BECAUSE other people are there.

And the platforms know this. They can make the experience worse and worse because switching costs are high.

Where would you go? Start over on a new platform with zero friends? Miss out on events and updates?

Platforms weaponize your connections to trap you.

4. Addiction Is the Point

TikTok isn't accidentally addictive. Instagram's infinite scroll isn't a UI oversight.

These features are designed by engineers and psychologists specifically to create habit loops that are hard to break.

Baylor University research (2025): "TikTok's algorithm is intentionally created to be addictive. Design choices capitalize on reward-based learning to facilitate habit loops."

The platforms have billions of dollars and the best designers in the world working to make it harder for you to stop using them.

And it's working.

So What Do We Do?

If it's not going back, what are our options?

Option 1: Accept It

Use social media knowing:

You'll see mostly ads and strangers

Algorithms will manipulate your feed

Your data is being collected

Your mental health may suffer

You'll spend hours per week on content you didn't choose

If the benefits outweigh these costs for you, fine. Just make it a conscious choice.

Option 2: Limit Exposure

Set strict time limits (15-30 min/day max)
Use "Following" feeds when available (though platforms hide them)
Turn off notifications
Delete apps from phone (browser-only access creates friction)
Use social media for posting, not consuming

Option 3: Use Different Tools for Different Needs

Here's a radical thought:

What if Instagram/Facebook/TikTok aren't the right tools for staying close with friends and family?

They were once. They're not anymore.

They're tools optimized for:

Showing you ads

Maximizing your time on platform

Collecting your data

Keeping you engaged with strangers' content

They're not designed for meaningful connection with people you care about.

So what if you used:

Instagram/TikTok for public content/entertainment (consciously, time-limited)

Something else for actual private conversations with close friends

Different tools. Different purposes.

What We Built Instead

This timeline is why Snugg exists.

We wanted social media from 2010, built with 2025 technology.

Here's what that means:

What we brought back:

✅ Chronological feed (see posts in order, from your group)

✅ Finite feed (when you're caught up, you're done)

✅ Zero ads (we make money from subscriptions)

✅ No algorithm (we don't decide what you should see)

✅ Private by default (end-to-end encrypted)

What we left in 2024:

❌ Algorithmic curation

❌ Infinite scroll

❌ Ads and sponsored content

❌ "Suggested" content from strangers

❌ Behavioral tracking

The model is simple:

You're not the product. You're the customer.

You pay a few dollars a month. We give you a private space for your actual inner circle. No surveillance, no manipulation, no ads.

It's what Instagram was in 2010, but private.

Join the waitlist →

The Bottom Line

Social media didn't gradually get worse. It changed deliberately, in specific ways, at specific times:

2009: Facebook introduces algorithmic feed

2015-2016: Ads proliferate across all platforms

2016: Instagram switches to algorithmic feed

2017-2020: Engagement optimization becomes dominant

2020-present: Suggested content, AI spam, mental health crisis

Each change was a choice that prioritized revenue over user experience.

And it's not going back.

Because the business model requires:

Showing you ads (can't do that efficiently in chronological feed)

Keeping you engaged (algorithmic content does that better than friends)

Collecting your data (necessary for ad targeting)

Trapping you with network effects (where else will you go?)

You're not crazy for thinking it got worse.

It did get worse. Deliberately. By design.

The question now is: What are you going to do about it?

Questions?

"Can't we just demand platforms change back?"

Demand all you want. They tested your limits. You complained but stayed. They learned they can ignore complaints.

"What about regulations?"

Maybe someday. But don't hold your breath. These companies spend hundreds of millions lobbying. And regulations move slowly.

"Why can't I just use the 'Following' feed on Instagram?"

You can! It has fewer ads and less algorithm. But Instagram resets you to "Home" feed every time you open the app. That's intentional.

"Is there really no way back?"

Not on these platforms. The business model is too embedded. But you can choose different platforms that work differently.

Share this if you've been wondering "when did this happen?"

Now you know. And you can't un-know it.

About Snugg: We built the social platform we wanted in 2010, with the privacy technology of 2025. Chronological, finite, ad-free, and actually private.

Learn more: snugg.social
Questions: hello@snugg.social

About the Author - Sam Bartlett

I'm a yacht surveyor based in the Caribbean and the founder of Snugg. After 15 years watching social media platforms prioritize ads over genuine connection, I decided to build the alternative. I previously built and ran a successful sailing holiday business, topping Google search results for years before algorithm changes destroyed organic reach. I'm not a developer or privacy activist—just someone who got tired of platforms that forgot their purpose. When I'm not building Snugg or surveying yachts, I wish everyone had more time for sailing in beautiful places (or whatever brings you joy).

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