Social media is everywhere but it’s missing an important ingredient — a true sense of belonging. Can the blockchain provide the missing link?

The more things change the more they stay the same. Technology has changed the world in many remarkable ways over the years, but for all that we are still driven by the same basic natural needs we always have been. Nothing demonstrates this more than social media. For all its success, though, it is still missing the one thing people want most of all, a sense of belonging.

The stats show just how amazingly popular social media can be. Facebook passed 2bn users at the start of the year. Twitter boasts more than 300million active users and Instagram has 800 million. It’s everywhere and like it or not has become almost unavoidable and therein lies its biggest flaw.

People use social media for many reasons. Sometimes it’s a desire to stay in touch with old friends, to see what’s happening in their lives or brag about their own. At heart, though, it caters to our basic need to find a sense of belonging. In practice, though, it delivers the opposite.

Social loneliness

A study released last year found that the more time people spend on social media, the more likely they are to feel isolated. The study from the University of Pittsburgh found that people who use social media too much experience feelings of loneliness and social envy.

We are all selective about what we post online — highlighting only the good news and keeping everything else secret. A glance at social media, then, can create the distorted illusion that everyone else is having a much better time than you. Far from promoting the sense of belonging you’re looking for it adds to a sense of exclusion.

Increasingly, social media is also becoming toxic. Online bullying is soaring, and the pervasive nature of our 24/7 connected world means there’s no escape. Some platforms appear to be designed to cater to the bullies. Just look at the rise of so-called honesty sites such as Sarahah where people can anonymously post comments on your profile. These are tailor-made for the trolls and they are making full use of it. Back in 2016 the NSPCC said it had seen an 88% rise in the number of children seeking help for online abuse. A quick look at Twitter shows it is becoming a platform for hate racism and bullying.

Who owns ‘social’?

So where has social media gone so wrong? Part of the problem lies in the ownership model of social media sites. They are owned by the platform who control what people post and what benefits users receive. The contract between you as a user and the platform is lop sided. You get to use the site for free and they get to send you advertisements and sell your data. As the Cambridge Analytica scandal has shown this has all sorts of flaws.

That’s not how communities work in real life. They are owned and controlled by their members, each of which brings something unique to the table and has a hand in building the community. That’s exactly the model being promoted by a new generation of blockchain based communities.

Sites such as HighVibe.Network, an online platform with whom I am associated is powered by its members. They produce and consume inspirational content and can benefit directly through their activity thanks to our digital token. They create the network, help it spread and contribute to its ongoing success. The more they contribute the bigger the network gets and the more they benefit.

This offers what social media has always been missing. It’s the crucial ingredient we’re all looking for in our social interactions. It’s the need to belong and to be part of a thriving, growing and positive online community. This is the power of the blockchain — to allow social media to finally live up to its own billing.