The last year has not been easy in the world of social networks. An impetuous billionaire bought out Twitter in favor of a controversial redefinition of freedom of expression, users abandoned Meta for the first time in its history, while TikTok continued its unbridled growth… We are only just beginning to measure the consequences of these events, which will certainly affect 2023.
The duty therefore offers you an overview of the trends to watch this year, including platforms like Mastodon which are increasingly establishing themselves as alternatives to Twitter, concerns about the politicization of certain social networks and political pressure (still) growing with regard to the Chinese giant TikTok.
Exodus from Twitter, really?
Since the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk, public figures worried about the future of the platform – Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Carrey and Elton John to name a few – have simply left it. Same story among some journalists, politicians and academics who used the social network for professional purposes.
“If Twitter had been bought by Facebook or Google, we would have some mistrust, but we would know what to expect,” says Nadia Seraiocco, doctoral student and lecturer at UQAM, specialist in social networks. But the platform was bought by an eccentric billionaire who has an idea of freedom of expression that does not suit everyone, even less journalists. »
Recall that Elon Musk recently suspended the accounts of journalists – before reinstating them following a survey sent to his subscribers – and that he prohibited all his users from sharing links leading to competing sites.
However, the exodus from the platform that many had foreseen did not happen. The sulphurous owner tweeted in November that the use of Twitter had reached “historic heights” since its takeover. The Verge and the FinancialTimes later confirmed that the number of “daily cashable users” has grown by more than 20%, and exceeds 250 million in total.
Mastodon, free and decentralized
Despite this upward trend — it is unclear at this time if it will be sustainable — more and more professionals and users identifying with digital subcultures are turning to Mastodon and other free networks. and similar decentralized platforms considered alternatives to Twitter due to the concerns discussed above.
“We are seeing a resurgence of interest in Mastodon,” explains Mr.me Seraiocco. This social network is similar to Twitter, but rather brings together small federated communities that can reach up to hundreds of thousands of members. »
The German platform jumped by more than a million users in November, surpassing two million active users in early December, before falling back to around 1.8 million in the first week of January. Hive Social, Cohost, and CounterSocial also saw increases in their user numbers.
“Mastodon will not turn into what you hate about Twitter, which is that it can be sold to a controversial billionaire, that it can be shut down, go bankrupt, etc.,” Eugen said. Rochko, the platform’s founder, at FinancialTimes end December. It’s the difference of paradigms [entre les deux plateformes]. »
Digital literacy and politicization
Mme Seraiocco clarifies that “digital literacy” should continue to grow in 2023 and that this phenomenon could contribute to the expansion of the Mastodon of this world. “These networks are often open networks, called open-source. They have always been traditionally difficult to access, difficult to understand. Today, it seems that we can use more efficient applications with the help of more and more people. »
An increased understanding of how social media algorithms work could also lead to greater dissatisfaction with traditional platforms like Facebook and Twitter in 2023 due to their increased emphasis on misleading political content, according to Ms.me Seraiocco.
“There is an awareness today that the major social networks are business enterprises,” she said. These companies do not have to follow the same ethical lines as traditional media at all. […] They can even decide to lean in favor of the right or the left by highlighting certain content more than others. It is also often from the right, because we see a greater emotionality in relation to messages from the right, which crystallizes more commitment. We therefore realize that, if we want to be properly informed, we may have to find other ways. »
TikTok at a crossroads?
Mme Seraiocco also observes that this awareness should go hand in hand with growing political pressure on TikTok, accused of being a tool of espionage by the American political class.
“Our governments are likely to face significant lobbying efforts from Facebook and Google to hold TikTok to account, as these US giants have to hand out billions to the media and further moderate their content,” he added. -she. For now, TikTok does what it wants. »
In a pre-holiday press scrum, Justin Trudeau said that “people are very concerned about TikTok” and that Canadian intelligence services would monitor potential security threats.