Internet Escapism: Social Media’s Rebrand to La-La-Land
The end of last year we saw the start of the Metaverse. Facebook crashed, and all of a sudden the words on every Marketers lips were, Meta, Metaverse, and VR. Although many of us don’t understand the full scope of those words, it’s clear they’re going to play a pretty big part in our lives in the years to come.
But what is the Metaverse?
The Metaverse may be our future, but what exactly IS IT? When the term became mainstream again, many marketers were asking the same thing. The phrase itself sounds like something from the Matrix film franchise, and I don’t think it’s entirely inaccurate to compare the two.
Conversations around the Metaverse feel similar to what I imagine early conversations about the internet were like - this strange new concept where you could interact with strangers from across the globe, would it be dangerous? Probably. Should we keep our children away from it? Maybe.
The whole thing feels very dystopian, but what is the actual definition? Here’s what The Wired had to say in their own post:
Broadly speaking, the technologies that make up the metaverse can include virtual reality—characterized by persistent virtual worlds that continue to exist even when you're not playing—as well as augmented reality that combines aspects of the digital and physical worlds. However, it doesn't require that those spaces be exclusively accessed via VR or AR. A virtual world, like aspects of Fortnite that can be accessed through PCs, game consoles, and even phones, could be metaversal.
It also translates to a digital economy, where users can create, buy, and sell goods. And, in the more idealistic visions of the metaverse, it's interoperable, allowing you to take virtual items like clothes or cars from one platform to another. In the real world, you can buy a shirt from the mall and then wear it to a movie theater. Right now, most platforms have virtual identities, avatars, and inventories that are tied to just one platform, but a metaverse might allow you to create a persona that you can take everywhere as easily as you can copy your profile picture from one social network to another.
Internet escapism: it hasn’t always been idyllic
For as long as I can remember the internet has been our own place to escape the crazy. From the misspent youth reblog other peoples Tumblr accounts, to the Finstas and hours spent on TikTok. Growing up with Snapchat and Instagram, I always thought social media was a place filled with inspiration, from the perfect body type, the dream lifestyle, and the perfect wardrobe. The internet was my own personal vision board for who I wanted to be. Looking back It makes sense I went into marketing, I definitely idolised the internet growing up.
But it’s worth noting the downsides from the early 2010’s too, when our parents finally began to look at our phones and question “should they really be on that?” or “perhaps this is age restricted for a reason”. Before #TheMoMoChallenge and #TidePodChallenge made parents everywhere concerned for their children’s social media usage we had revenge porn in high schools and ongoing conversations about the unrealistic standards being set for children by influencers.
The internet definitely isn’t a fantasy land, there’s dark spaces and a variety of problems on there that I doubt will ever be resolved. But I do believe escapism is one of the key drivers of the internet.
Lockdown is the perfect example of Internet Escapism, how many people downloaded TikTok in march 2020? How many people binged shows like Bridgerton in a week. We had nothing else to do apart from exercise once a day, take too-long at the supermarket, and keep in touch with whoever we could online.
Social media’s rebrand to escapism
I feel like ever since Facebook Crashed in October 2021, there’s been a consistent flow of conversation about how toxic the suite of social media apps can be on users of all ages. From knowingly profiting off media misinformation to being complicit in various social media controversies, people from outside the sphere of digital marketing were beginning to spot the faults in Facebook.
I recall writing “What did we learn from Facebook crashing” and reading all about calls to break up the monopoly they had over users lives. There has always been toxic parts of the internet, but such calls quickly became a catalyst for exterior change. How can social media be the fantasy escapist land they were back in 2010-2012?
The answer is they can’t, but they can frame themselves to be one. Ever since the crash, and the subsequent Meta announcement, the group have been changing their branding to become more of an essential to life. Instagram is a place to share memories, Facebook is for family, and WhatsApp is the new SMS.
I’ll be interested to see how this new tactic sticks with their audience. Facebook is pretty much a dead platform, Instagram is progressively more toxic, and WhatsApp is not as secure as they once thought.
Here’s to 2022, I guess.