iWorld
The future of social media: Predicting trends and technologies that will shape the industry
Mumbai: Social media, once a novelty, has become an ingrained part of our lives. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter(now X), and Instagram connect us with friends and family, inform us about current events, and entertain us with endless content. But how will social media evolve in the coming years? What trends and technologies will reshape how we interact online?
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI)
AI has started interacting with and merging social media, and its influence will grow. Here are some ways AI will impact the future:
. Content creation and personalisation: AI can analyze user data and preferences to create personalized content feeds. Imagine platforms curating news articles, videos, and posts tailored to your interests. AI can also assist content creators by generating ideas, writing captions, and editing visuals.
. Community management and moderation: AI-powered chatbots can handle basic customer service inquiries and answer frequently asked questions, freeing human moderators to focus on complex issues. AI can detect and remove harmful content, promoting a safer online environment.
. Targeted advertising: AI will allow advertisers to hyper-target their campaigns, reaching the specific demographics and psychographics most likely to be receptive to their messages. This will lead to more effective advertising and a more personalized user experience.
The power of data and analytics
Social media platforms collect vast user data, providing valuable insights into user behaviour and preferences. How will this data be used in the future?
. Social listening and brand reputation management: Brands can leverage social media data to understand public sentiment towards their products and services. They can then use this information to improve customer satisfaction, address negative feedback, and build brand loyalty.
. Predictive marketing and content strategy: By analyzing user data, social media platforms and brands can predict what content will resonate with specific audiences. This allows for more targeted content marketing strategies, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
. Evolving user privacy concerns: As data collection becomes more sophisticated, concerns about user privacy will continue to rise. Platforms must strike a balance between gathering valuable data and respecting user privacy. We might see stricter regulations and increased user control over data collection and use.
The shift towards immersive experiences
The future of social media might be on something other than our screens. Emerging technologies like (AR) and (VR) could play a part in how we interact online.
. The rise of the metaverse: The metaverse, a hypothetical future iteration of the internet, could be a persistent, immersive virtual world where social interactions occur through avatars. Meta’s project didn’t go as planned, but we shouldn’t immediately disregard it!
. Enhanced social experiences: AR overlays digital elements onto the real world. Imagine using AR filters to try on clothes virtually before buying them or using location-based AR features to discover new restaurants and hidden gems in your city.
. Interactive content and storytelling: Social media platforms could integrate AR and VR elements into their existing formats.
Focus on authenticity and community building
As users become increasingly aware of the adverse effects of social media, platforms will need to prioritise user well-being and foster a sense of authentic connection. Here are some potential trends:
. The rise of private messaging apps: Users may shift towards private messaging apps that offer a more intimate and controlled environment for communication. Platforms like Discord and Telegram are already experiencing significant growth, catering to communities with more specific interests.
. The decline of clickbait and misinformation: With increased user scepticism towards online content, platforms should identify ways to solve the spread of misinformation and promote reliable sources. Algorithmic changes and fact-checking initiatives will be crucial.
. Focus on meaningful interactions and well-being: Users crave genuine connections and positive online experiences. Platforms may prioritize features that promote healthy online communities, fostering meaningful discussions and real-world interactions.
The future of social commerce
Social media is no longer just a tool for connection; it’s becoming a powerful platform for commerce. How will social commerce evolve in the future?
. Seamless shopping experiences: Social media platforms integrate features that allow users to discover products, browse reviews, and purchase directly within the app. One-click buying and integration with payment platforms will further streamline the shopping experience.
. The rise of influencer marketing: Influencers will continue to play a significant role in social commerce. Brands will partner with micro-influencers with highly engaged audiences to promote products and services more authentically.
The evolving role of social media platforms
As technology and user preferences evolve, social media platforms must adapt to remain relevant. Here are some potential changes in the platform landscape:
. The rise of decentralised social media: Decentralised social media platforms give users more control over data and content. These platforms utilize blockchain technology to distribute data storage and content moderation across a network of computers. While still nascent, decentralized platforms could offer a more user-centric alternative to traditional social media giants.
. Subscription-based models: Social media platforms may charge a subscription fee for premium features or ad-free experiences. This could provide a new revenue stream for platforms while giving users more control over their experience.
. The rise of niche platforms: Niche platforms will continue to emerge, catering to specific interests and communities. These platforms offer a more focused and potentially less toxic environment for users with shared interests.
The ethical considerations of a connected future
The future of social media presents exciting possibilities but also raises ethical concerns. Here are some issues that need to be addressed:
. The impact on mental health: Social media is linked to depression and other mental health complications. Platforms are responsible for promoting healthy online habits and creating features that support user well-being.
. The spread of misinformation: The spread of false information on social media can significantly impact society and democracy. Platforms need to implement stricter fact-checking mechanisms and educate users on media literacy.
. Data privacy and security: Data collection is becoming sophisticated, and user privacy concerns will remain paramount. Platforms must be transparent and empower users to control their data.
Social media has changed the way we communicate and interact with the world. With evolving technology, social media’s future will be more immersive, personalized & data-driven. While exciting opportunities lie ahead, addressing ethical concerns and ensuring a future where social media fosters positive connections, promotes well-being, and empowers users is crucial.
This future will require ongoing collaboration between users, platforms, and policymakers to create a responsible and equitable online environment. By harnessing the power of technology for good, social media can continue to connect us, inform us, and empower us to create a better future.
The article has been authored by The Hype Capital founder Sachin Shah.
eNews
How short, addictive story videos quietly colonised the Indian smartphone
A landmark Meta-Ormax study of 2,000 viewers reveals a format that is growing fast, paying slowly and consumed almost entirely in secret
CALIFORNIA, MUMBAI: India has a new entertainment habit, and it arrived without anyone really noticing. Micro dramas, those short, cliffhanger-driven episodic stories built for the smartphone screen, have quietly embedded themselves into the daily routines of millions of Indians, discovered not by design but by algorithmic accident, watched not in living rooms but in bedrooms, on commutes and in the five minutes before sleep.
That, in essence, is the finding of a sweeping new audience study released by Meta and media insights firm Ormax Media at Meta’s inaugural Marketing Summit: Micro-Drama Edition. Titled “Micro Dramas: The India Story” and based on 2,000 personal interviews and 50 depth interviews conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 across 14 states, it is the most comprehensive study of the category in India to date, and its findings are striking.
Sixty-five per cent of viewers discovered micro dramas within the last year. Of those, 89 per cent stumbled upon the format through social media feeds, primarily Instagram and Facebook, without ever searching for it. The algorithm did the heavy lifting. Discovery, as the report puts it bluntly, is algorithm-led, not intent-led.
The typical viewer journey begins with accidental exposure while scrolling, moves through a cliffhanger-driven incompletion hook that makes stopping feel unfinished, and is reinforced by algorithmic repetition until habitual consumption sets in. Only then, when a platform asks for an app download or a payment, does the viewer pause. Trust, not content quality, determines what happens next, and many simply return to the free feed rather than pay. It is a funnel with a wide mouth and a narrow neck.
The numbers on consumption tell their own story. Viewers spend a median of 3.5 hours per week watching micro dramas, spread across seven to eight sessions of roughly 30 minutes each, peaking sharply between 8pm and midnight. Daytime viewing is snackable and low-commitment, squeezed into morning commutes, work breaks and coffee pauses. Night-time is where the format truly lives: private, uninterrupted and, for many viewers, socially invisible. Ninety per cent watch alone, compared to just 43 per cent for long-form OTT content. Half the audience watches during their commute, well above the 37 per cent figure for streaming platforms, a direct reflection of the format’s low time investment advantage.
The audience itself breaks into three segments. Incidental viewers, comprising 39 per cent of the total, are passive consumers who stumble in and rarely seek content actively. Intent-building viewers, the largest group at 43 per cent, are beginning to form habits and seek out episodes but remain cautious. High-intent viewers, just 18 per cent, are the ones who download apps, tolerate ads and occasionally pay: skewing male, younger and urban.
What audiences want from the content is revealing. The top three genres are romance at 72 per cent, family drama at 64 per cent and comedy at 63 per cent, precisely the same top three as Hindi general entertainment television. The format rewards emotional familiarity over complexity. Romance in particular thrives because it demands low cognitive investment, needs no elaborate world-building and plays naturally into the private, pre-sleep viewing window where inhibitions lower and emotional intimacy feels safe.
The most-recalled shows, led by Kuku TV titles such as The Lady Boss Returns, The Billionaire Husband and Kiss My Luck, share a common narrative DNA: rich-poor conflict, hidden identities, power imbalances, melodrama and cliffhangers that make stopping feel physically uncomfortable. Predictability, the research warns, is fatal. Each episode must re-earn attention from scratch.
The terminology question is telling. Despite the industry’s embrace of the phrase “micro drama,” viewers have not adopted it. They call the content “short story videos,” “short dramas,” “reels with stories” or simply “serials.” One respondent from Chennai said bluntly that “micro sounds like a scientific word.” The category is at the stage that OTT occupied in 2019 and podcasts in the same year: widely consumed, poorly named and not yet crystallised in the public imagination.
Platform awareness remains alarmingly thin. Only three platforms, Kuku TV at 78 per cent, Story TV at 46 per cent and Quick TV at 28 per cent, have crossed the 20 per cent awareness threshold. The rest languish in single digits. This creates a trust deficit that directly throttles monetisation: viewers who cannot remember which app they used are hardly primed to enter their payment details.
Yet the appetite is clearly there. Sixty-five per cent of viewers watch only Indian content, drawn by the TV-serial familiarity of the storytelling, the comfort of Hindi as a shared language and the sight of actors they half-recognise from decades of television. South languages are rising fast: Tamil, Telugu and Kannada together account for 24 per cent of first-choice viewing. And AI-generated content, still a novelty, has landed better than expected: 47 per cent of viewers call it creative and unique, with only 6 per cent actively rejecting it.
Shweta Bajpai, director, media and entertainment (India) at Meta, called micro drama “a category that is rewriting the rules of Indian entertainment,” adding that the discovery engine being social distinguishes this wave from previous content formats. Shailesh Kapoor, founder and chief executive of Ormax Media, was characteristically measured: the format, he said, is showing “the early signs of becoming a distinct content category” and, given how closely it aligns with natural mobile behaviour, “has the potential to scale very quickly.”
The format’s fundamental mechanics are working. It enters lives quietly, through boredom and a scrolling thumb, and burrows in through incompletion and habit. The challenge now is monetisation: converting a category of highly engaged but deeply anonymous viewers into paying customers who trust the platform enough to hand over their UPI credentials. The story, as any micro-drama writer knows, is only as good as the next cliffhanger. India’s platforms had better have one ready.
