5 Ways Social Media Apps Are Too Bloated
Remember when social media apps did one or two things really well? Those days are gone and over-diversification has caused many to become bloated. Most apps are too overwhelming now; here are some examples.
1 Notes on Instagram
Instagram has been constantly adding new features since mid-2010, and while I don’t like all of them, I can see the logic behind it. For example, I rarely use Reels myself, but I can see how they work on the platform (and I also create Instagram Reels using Canva). However, I have never clicked on an Instagram comment (and probably never will).
Instagram comments are basically the equivalent of going into a DM and seeing a status update. These include music and videos in addition to text and I would say that we now have too many ways to communicate with followers. In addition to notes, you can use reels, carousels, single posts, stories, and broadcast channels; all of this is too overwhelming for most users.
2 Facebook reels
While I understand why you would have Reels on Instagram, Facebook Reels seem like a complete waste of time. Although I deleted my Facebook account a while ago, I have never consumed video content on the platform. I was interested in (some) people’s statuses and also interacted with photos – along with using Facebook Messenger.
Facebook Reels feel like a worse version of Instagram Reels to me. I would argue that the app already had too many notifications even without them, which is one of the worst features on Facebook, along with bloated ads, stories, and group/page posts. Removing some of them and streamlining the application would contribute to a more positive user experience and I also believe that the time spent on Facebook would be of a higher quality.
3 X’s Quest to become an Everything app
X has added a huge amount of features over the past few years, and while some are limited to premium users, I’d still argue that the app experience is overwhelming for users with free accounts.
Jobs is one such example. I understand the logic; X is a place for journalists and tech professionals to come together. However, one social media site – LinkedIn – already covers this feature (and is known for being *the* place to meet as a professional).
Audio and video calls are another feature that adds to the X’s bloat, as are communities (which are separate from lists). Articles (again a feature already available on LinkedIn) and Grok made the app even more saturated. I think Twitter has already gone downhill before 2022, but the app is even less fun to use; it’s no surprise that some people are using X less and less these days.
4 YouTube Shorts
Want to know how much I appreciate short YouTube videos? Well, it’s something like this…
… Every time they appear on my feed, I hide them for another 30 days. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum.
YouTube Shorts are basically just a way to compete with TikTok, but they are not compatible with the main reason most of us visit YouTube. We go there to watch long content and anyone who wants to see things in short format will go to TikTok instead. Personally, I think YouTube is better off getting rid of Shorts altogether.
X has its problems and I think a viable competitor needs to enter the market. Threads *can* be like that, but when Meta tries to cross-promote posts on separate Instagram and Facebook apps, they’re bloated. Additionally, you cannot read the featured thread posts you see unless you register.
I haven’t signed up for Threads yet, but if I ever decide to join, I’ll go to the specific app. While you can hide Threads posts on Instagram, you can only do so for a limited time. Instagram already has too many bells and whistles with everything we talked about earlier; even more so when you consider ads, the Explore page, and so on.
New features aren’t a problem in themselves, but it’s important that apps aren’t too bloated. Doing so will ruin the user experience and may lead to many people spending less time online. Ironically, this is the exact opposite of what social media companies want. I wish social media businesses would be more careful about what they include and constantly bombard us with features that don’t need to be there.
