The Fourth Wave of Connection: How Social Media Overhauled Us

Social media is one of the fastest changing landscapes in the tech world today. The year 2022 saw so much change—both good and bad—on our favorite platforms, it may be hard to remember them all.

Here is a look back at a few ways that different social media giants changed in 2022.

1. Facebook’s Increased Focus on the Metaverse

Meta originally announced their company name change from Facebook in 2021, but 2022 saw an intense push from the platform for the metaverse. Several advertisers have joined the metaverse in 2022, and Meta developed and released high-tech VR headsets for users, according to CNN .

This focus has not yet translated to popular use though. Most Facebook users are not in the metaverse yet or even own a VR headset. According to Forbes , the upgraded metaverse avatar that Mark Zuckerberg unveiled in 2022 was also widely unpopular. Although, one 2023 social media prediction is that as Meta continues to push the metaverse, consumers may finally join in.

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2. Elon Musk Took Over Twitter

Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, and it has been chaos at Twitter ever since. From pausing Twitter Blue to re-offering it and changing the price, the social media platform’s financial future has never been more uncertain.

Musk also changed the way Twitter is run by firing over half of the company’s employees and restructuring the company. He even hinted at a possible return of video-sharing app Vine in 2022, although no evidence of this return has been seen yet.

Potential changes to Twitter’s community guidelines and policies have also been the subject of controversy in 2022 as Musk prioritized “free speech” on the platform.

3. Reels, Reels, Reels

Instagram made a major shift from a photo-sharing app to just about an everything social media app in 2022. The app’s main focus has been pushing Instagram Reels and supporting creators who make and post Reels by showing their content to more people on the algorithmic home feed.

Reels are Instagram’s answer to TikTok gaining popularity. TikTok isn’t the only social media that Instagram copied in 2022 though.Instagram also tested Candid Stories in 2022 which are the same concept as new social media app BeReal, where a notification at a random time each day prompts you to immediately post a picture of whatever you are doing at that moment.

4. The Rise of BeReal

Speaking of BeReal, the French social media app rose to over 10 million downloads in 2022, going from a small new platform to a ubiquitous concept that Instagram and TikTok are both now copying. Instagram has Candid Stories, while TikTok launched TikTok Now . BeReal’s longevity is yet to be seen, but the fun and authentic platform definitely made its mark in 2022.

BeReal didn’t just popularize the once-per-day photo. The app has proven that audiences want more authentic content and less of the perfect photoshopped influencer content that other platforms have become known for. Even if BeReal itself doesn’t last, the impact on the kind of content we see all over social media will likely last beyond 2022.

Social Media in 2022

2022 was a defining year for social media all over the world. Many of the changes we saw are likely not just trends; they are transformations to our favorite platforms that will continue to evolve as we use social media differently.

Were the changes we saw in 2022 for the better or did they make things worse? Many of them were controversial or unpopular, but others will help us remember 2022 positively. It will be exciting to see how these changes will shape the future of the social media world.