Once imagined as a revolutionary tool for connection, entertainment, and information, social media today is slipping into a dangerous spiral — turning increasingly anti-social in both content and consequence. The latest evidence of this disturbing transformation came when a young woman livestreamed her suicide, while thousands watched without intervening. Suicides are not new. But the deliberate broadcasting of death — and the audience it draws — forces us to ask a chilling question: Have we lost control of what social media was meant to be?
Originally built to bring people together, social media has become a place where chaos, controversy, and a craving for attention reign supreme. It was meant to inform and enlighten — today, it often misleads and corrupts. The rise of the so-called “digital creator” has turned a platform for creativity into a marketplace for validation, money, and, increasingly, mental instability.
And make no mistake — it is a trap.
From teenagers to housewives, the lure of virality and the promise of easy income have drawn people into a digital world where values are discarded for views. What’s considered socially unacceptable in the real world is repackaged as entertainment online — and monetised. As with a thief who justifies his crime as a necessity, or a drug dealer who blames his trade on profit, digital creators are increasingly falling into the same loop: If it earns money, it must be okay.
This profit-first logic is destroying the line between content and conscience. The calm, introverted person offline becomes loud, crass, or obscene online. Is this transformation driven by genuine happiness? No. It’s driven by algorithms that reward noise over nuance, vulgarity over value.
Everyone wants to be an “influencer.” But influence comes with responsibility — and most have no idea what that means. What is the impact of one reel? One joke? One crass dialogue? In a private room among friends, it’s a laugh. On a public platform, it becomes social messaging. And when done poorly, it becomes social rot.
The system is designed to feed this. Algorithms push the most controversial content to the top. Why? Because controversy = views = profit. Platforms don’t need to spend on content — creators do it for free, desperate for attention, locked in a never-ending cycle of escalation. First, a dance. Then a dirty joke. Next? Who knows — but it must be more shocking, more extreme.
This is not a slippery slope. It’s a free fall.
Today, the line between content creation and mental illness is thinning rapidly. Experts are already warning that social media is manufacturing a generation of people disconnected from reality, validation-addicted, depressed, and confused. The influencer economy is unstable — content fades, relevance disappears, dopamine runs dry — and what follows is burnout, breakdown, or worse.
Look closely — most influencer-linked suicides stem from this very trap. The need to top yesterday’s content leads to desperation. And the worst part? The influencers we criticise are themselves influenced by what they see others doing. If you are blindly following a trend, are you truly an influencer — or just another lost follower in disguise?
This isn’t just about digital creators. The bigger worry is what happens to the millions they influence — the young minds that consume this content daily, forming opinions, behaviours, and identities around it.
When the foundations of society are shaken for business, it’s time to sound the alarm. The platforms profit. The creators burn out. The viewers are poisoned.
So yes, social media is becoming anti-social. And unless we learn to use it with responsibility — as viewers, as creators, as platforms — we’re heading towards a mental health disaster we are not prepared for.
It’s time to step back. Think. Reflect.
Not everything that goes viral is worth it. And not all influence is good.
The question is — are we ready to change before it’s too late?
