It must have been 2006. I was working in a small contemporary art centre in the Northeast of Scotland as marketing and communications manager, and a colleague walked in, Jack. He was the expert in digital media. “Nina”, he said, “You should check out this thing called Facebook, it could be interesting for your marketing work.” And so it started. I made a profile. For myself, and for the art centre. And I loved it. Social media, the new power tool to reach huge audiences. Move over, expensive brochures, here’s free Facebook! Twenty years later, I have a different opinion. This is my take on a trend I see happening right now: the rise and fall of social media.
Word-of-mouth on steroids
There had been Myspace, of course. And a thing called Hyves, which was popular in the Netherlands, and then stopped in 2013. But when Facebook arrived on the scene, it was like a whole new world of possibilities opened. And indeed, it was a powerful marketing tool. Our little art centre was hidden down a dark alleyway, as well as suffering from a stuffy reputation, but with digital marketing now a thing, I was adamant to bring in a younger crowd.
And I did. Social media made it possible to create a buzz about the place, outside of its hidden, physical location, just by posting cool visuals and snappy captions. And soon, young, trendy students started appearing at our events and launches, because “they had seen it on Facebook”.
Before the smartphone addiction
I dived in deep, went to numerous masterclasses and conferences in the early years, and was well and truly part of the trailblazers in arts marketing through the use of this new power tool. I lapped it all up. Creating visuals, writing catchy copy, building websites and making graphics was something I had always enjoyed and social media was now giving me a 24/h reason to create content. I knew how to use it, I knew how to grow an audience with it. Not long after, I toured a workshop called ‘Social Media for the Terrified’ to teach others. I saw its potential, it was word-of-mouth on steroids, and it was FUN. Nobody saw the full danger of it yet; it was a playground and it was all for free.
Smartphones came out around the same time. I got my first iPhone4 probably the same year as I started a Facebook account. It was all so innovative and innocent. Nobody was walking around in the street yet holding their phone while staring at it. It was cool, it was new. None of the teenagers had a smartphone. It feels like yesterday. To think that nearly everyone in the world now has access to a smartphone and has a Meta account, is the stuff of science fiction.
It is 2025 now. We are nearly twenty years on from that moment when my colleague Jack suggested I should give Facebook a go. Today I want to become part of the movement to get off it, and take our sovereignty back. Am I naive? Or a pioneer yet again?
The real price of posting on Meta
At the time, it was fun, exciting and full of potential. It was free. It isn’t free, however, even if we don’t pay a membership to use the Meta platforms. We are paying with our minds, and our time. And then I haven’t even mentioned its effect on the mental health of kids and young people. We have become slaves. Yes, I know that sounds dramatic, but I believe it is true. We have become the combustibles for a dangerous machine. Our thoughts and words, our photos and video’s, our voices and faces have become the fuel to make the machine ever more powerful, no matter whether we set things as ‘private’.
The multi-billion dollar machine rolls out the algorithm in such a way that you will want to buy stuff that comes past on your timeline – because you have told it what goes on in your mind. Admit it, have you ever bought something you saw in a sponsored ad? I know I have.
Nowadays, my timelines are completely obliterated with adverts. Sponsored posts, suggestions to follow, content I never signed up for. Everyone is out to sell me something. I get to see posts from some pages, groups or people more than others. It is no longer a public space where we get to hang out together, connect with friends and be social. If you are still able to do this, then kudos, because I find it impossible.
Can small businesses be without social media?
The hard part is: what alternatives are there for small businesses, or, indeed, the hidden contemporary art centre in a dark alleyway in need of visitors? If, as creatives, freelancers and small business owners we get off social media, how do we sell our services and products?
The question is: what did we do before?
The amount of time we spend creating content nowadays, and subsequently check to see if we have any Likes yet (or tumble weed), we can surely spend otherwise. I am not suggesting we should go back to producing expensive printed brochures and leaflets. I am also not saying that we should burn all our bridges and come off social media cold turkey. But I do feel we should look at ourselves and our businesses long and hard, and ask ourselves how much we are REALLY gaining from being on these platforms daily. Changing our habits may require doing more hands-on marketing and networking.
Social media has made us lazy in a way. We post a picture and a caption, and think that our marketing job is done. But this is just shouting in the wind. The real marketing is about making real-life connections. Yes, this can certainly be done online, but we seem to have forgotten about building in-person relationships. And actually phoning someone.
Being an artist in the year 2000
I was in a band in Uni, around the year 2000, called Nina’s Dochters. We got quite a following locally, and at one point had weekly gigs. Even made it onto national radio, played live on a local radio show, got reviews in music magazines of our EP, and won contests.
We had no social media.
I am still in a band, it is 2025, and I am a solo singer-songwriter as well. Got a profile on Instagram, and have been feeling very overwhelmed by the constant need to post reels, photos, updates. I don’t have weekly gigs, nor am I played on the radio. What’s different? Good PR, and the energy of at least one band member to not be shy and do the legwork. I remember we sent off numerous weird and wonderful, heavily embellished, press releases. The cellist of Nina’s Dochters, my mate Wimer, had absolutely no shame in phoning people, and telling them how amazing we were, and we got many opportunities as a result.
The moral of the story? Those handful of loyal Likers on your socials are probably never going to buy from you. What you need is some Dutch courage and a ballsy mate called Wimer to get your name out there. All jokes aside, having a solid marketing strategy, and some stamina to keep going, are vital. Building a reputation is all about getting in front of the right people, speaking to them in person, and crafting a unique, strong story that sticks and inspires. I know, I know, the media landscape has also changed dramatically, and it isn’t as easy anymore as 25 years ago perhaps to get the opportunities I had back then. But still. I think the message is the same.
Facebook ads and adding to the problem
I envy the people who have the discipline to only open social media for twenty minutes each day. I am addicted. And that is exactly what Meta wants. When billions of people are addicted to their screens, and scrolling mindlessly on their timelines, the more products will be sold and the more adverts Meta can sell to desperate small businesses trying to reach their audiences. Meta is listening, literally, to your problems. And that gets me onto the question of Facebook ads.
I know many coaches and online course providers who swear by them. They fill their programmes by using ads. My question is: how are you contributing positively to the world by selling a programme on Meta that teaches you how to sell a programme on Meta? Programmes that teach you how to create content that ‘sells’, with systems, formulas and funnels….? I have done all of this, but I am no longer convinced.
When is social media still beneficial
There are positive outcomes, of course. Perhaps you have such an experience, seeing things on your timeline that came at exactly the right moment (not by coincidence, obviously), and you got some really positive results from it. Had I not stumbled across a sponsored account of a song-writer and course provider last year, I had not known about her retreat, and I wouldn’t have been inspired to start writing my solo album this year. This was because the algorithm made me discover this account, and I signed up for her course. It was fantastic.
And not only have I benefited from sponsored accounts, I have also benefited greatly from being inside Facebook groups over the years, connecting with people in new cities and countries I moved to, finding out about networking events, and even finding my first clients by just spotting an opportunity.
This makes things complicated, because not all is doom and gloom. Social media makes it possible for a large amount of people to quickly know about something and get mobilized. A prime example is the moment when the terrible floods hit here in Valencia in October, and social media played a big part in encouraging volunteers to pick up shovels and walk in to help with the cleanup. At moments like these, the word ‘social’ is truly being put back in the media.
Finding a healthy balance
I feel it is time for a revolution. Times are incredibly tumultuous right now. And with some very dodgy powerful people at the helm, and their shady entourage including the CEO of Meta, I am feeling uneasy. Imagine what AI and powerful algorithms could do to the minds of billions of people with a Meta account? Imagine how easy it is now to make a selection of people that are not in line with the preferred narrative of the people in power, and track them down. It is the stuff of nightmares for free thinkers and artists, and the wet dream of any malevolent dictator wishing to weed out the undesirables.
I think it is time to stop seeing these platforms as innocent playgrounds, and start using them consciously – and cautiously. If you are a business and you are on it, really think about why and how you are going to use it from now on, if at all. Could you take your followers with you? Start an email list? Create a group on Signal or Telegram? (Whatsapp is Meta too, of course). There are so many ideas to become more visible. Make a list of all of the things you could be doing to promote your business outside of social media. If my little band at uni got a following without it back in 2000, then so can you.
As for private use, I am stilling working on it. I know that I need to tackle this dependency and the need to check Instagram constantly. The excuse that “I don’t have enough time” to create, write or exercise, does not hold up when I see my daily consumption of social media. Freedom is my core value, so why am I being held hostage by an app? But it is hard to give it up. I live abroad, and I enjoy staying in touch through the apps. Then again, how much do I really care about staying in touch with the mums from a school my boys once went to years ago? Or the ex-colleagues on LinkedIn from way back? What will I loose if I leave? What will I gain?
Conclusion
Yeah. A conclusion. Not easy. The rise and fall of social media. I think we will start to see a decline in the use of it, I do. Despite the up and coming alternative apps like Bluesky, Mastodon, Vero and Pixelfed. These are nice, but too niche. And if they do take off, then what’s the point? I believe there is currently a growing group of people who are starting to feel tired of social media in general, and the time it has stolen away from them to do the things they want to do. In essence, we humans yearn for real connection, community, and meaningful conversation. Instead, we keep scrolling, loose focus and become a scattered mess dying for their next dopamine hit.
I also believe people are starting to wake up to the darker motives of these tech giants and their government friends and the rather convenient fact that we all seem to have become sleepwalking junkies. You can quietly move a large crowd in a certain direction if they are all distracted by cat videos. Or if you keep them engaged in polarized mudslinging discussions in the comment section.
In my experience, the bad effects are now outweighing the good ones. And if the positives are ‘staying in touch with loved ones while overseas’, how hard is it to create a different tool for that? And perhaps there are other ways to find out out about local events you want to get involved in, such as Meetup.
If coming off Meta (or LinkedIn, or other) is too hard and you do really feel you need to still be on it, then discipline is the only way to keep it in check. A timer, a dedicated time of day, to check posts, engagement and reply to comments. Deleting the apps off your phone also helps. And then, log out. Go outside, smell, listen, watch. I wonder how many of us have forgotten to really notice the clouds.
