The rise of social media
The rise of social media coincided with the formative years of Peak TV, both fundamentally reshaping how content is consumed.
In hindsight, we can now say a major shift occurred in 2012 when Facebook went public and subsequently acquired Instagram. This move marked a major pivot to mobile, introducing the ‘newsfeed’—a revolutionary model that ranked posts based on algorithmically determined relevance rather than chronological order. This new approach aimed to capture and maintain user attention (and consequently ad revenue).
TikTok accelerated this evolution by creating an entirely algorithm-driven feed with its “For You” page. Instead of relying on user subscriptions or follows, TikTok served users a personalised stream of videos curated by its algorithms. This approach was quickly emulated by other platforms, with YouTube launching Shorts and Instagram introducing Stories, all leveraging algorithmic content curation to enhance user engagement.
This shift from traditional social connections to algorithmic relevance, coupled with – as Arron Shepherd, CEO and founder of GOAT, points out the “advances in mobile technology democratising content creation” ignited the era of influencer marketing. As platforms transitioned from friend-based feeds to algorithm-driven content, the role of influencers became central to content strategies.
As Jack Conte, co-founder and CEO of Patreon, noted at SXSW 2024:
“This model completely abandoned the concept of the follow,” he said. Influencers emerged as key figures in driving engagement, with their content promoted based on algorithmic preferences rather than direct personal networks”.
On reflection it’s now clear that algorithms have profoundly impacted how we consume content, influencing both the time spent and the types of content we watch. Research from EssenceMediacom reveals that 98% of people are aware that algorithms guide their content consumption, and 89% are likely to engage with recommendations provided by these algorithms. Interestingly, only one-third of people expressed a desire for less algorithmically served content, indicating a general satisfaction with this approach when it comes to social media.
And proof is really in time spent with media; with time spent with algorithmically driven social only increasing year on year.
