The eyes have it: Binge is cringe, but India is sucking up social media slop big time

TOI Correspondent from Washington: Driven by a youthful population and a mobile-first approach, India is getting sucked big-time into digital junk on social media platforms even as western nations are showing signs of plateauing and even declining in this aspect.

A recent analysis by the digital audience insights company GWI reveals that daily time spent on social platforms by adults in developed countries has been on a downward trend since a peak in 2022 even as it is rising in India. By the end of 2024, usage in the west was down by nearly 10% from its high point, the decline most pronounced in Europe, although the jury is still out on the effect of AI, which is now throwing up new content.

However, India's story is one of rapid and ongoing growth. With a median age of just 28.8, India is one of the world's most youthful nations, and this demographic is fueling its digital expansion. The country's users spend an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes per day on social media, notably higher than the U.S. average of 2 hours and 9 minutes per day, and far higher than Europe’s 1 hour 48 minutes.

The divergence in usage trends is also reflected in platform preferences and content consumption. In India, platforms that facilitate a mobile-first, video-heavy, and community-driven experience are the most popular. WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram are major players, with short-form video content like Reels and Shorts dominating engagement.

The data suggests that for many in the West, the initial novelty and high engagement of social media are fading. Binge is now cringe. This downward trend is seen most among heaviest historical users: teenagers and people in their twenties.

While platforms like TikTok – which is banned in India – are popular in the U.S., the overall consumption patterns are different, with some reports indicating a shift away from reflexive, time-filling scrolling toward more intentional online activities. In other words, westerners are turning up their nose and nos, while Indians are plunging headlong into brain rot, sucking in social media slop just as they are with junk food and sugary drinks, while social media giants are picking their pockets.

In a recent essay, the technology writer Cory Doctorow identified a three-stage life cycle for these platforms in a process he called "enshittification," – a predictable pattern of decay as they evolve to prioritize shareholder profit over user value.

Stage 1: They are good to their users (Bait). The platform offers a genuinely good service—often at a loss—to attract a massive, locked-in user base. Stage 2: (Switch). Once users are locked in (due to network effects or switching costs), the platform begins shifting the "surplus" value away from them and toward its business customers (suppliers, creators, advertisers). Stage 3: (Extraction). Finally, with both users and business customers fully dependent, the platform exploits the business customers, clawing back all remaining value to maximize profit for its shareholders. The platform becomes a "useless pile of shit," filled with "botshit, crap gadgets," and advertising scams.

There is now a growing movement towards digital detoxification in the west even as the situation is aggravated by AI – illustrated by the America’s troller-in-chief himself dispensing AI-generated garbage, adding to the copious output of social media sewage. Grassroots Advocacy organizations like the youth-led "LOG OFF Movement" are urging people to reject what is being called the “attention economy” amid a push to regulate social media companies, despite the major ones having burrowed their way into Washington DC and now allied with the ruling dispensation.