The rise of unsolicited advice on social media has transformed platforms from spaces for sharing experiences into commercialized environments that undermine user enjoyment.
A clear distinction between descriptive and prescriptive content is crucial for both consumers and creators to foster critical thinking and personal agency in content engagement.
Deep dives
The Decline of Social Media Through Unsolicited Advice
The evolution of social media platforms is marked by the increasing prevalence of unsolicited advice, leading to a decline in user enjoyment. Initially, platforms like Facebook and Instagram fostered genuine sharing among users, but they have ultimately devolved into spaces dominated by commercial interests and advice-driven content. The rapid decline of newer platforms, such as TikTok and Threads, highlights this issue, as they seem to succumb to this trend almost instantaneously. This shift from authentic interaction to a focus on advice undermines the sense of community and shared experiences that initially attracted users to these platforms.
Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Content
Content can be categorized as either descriptive or prescriptive, each serving different purposes in communication. Descriptive content seeks to explain and understand experiences, while prescriptive content provides solutions and instructions, often implying that the audience is inadequate without them. Social theorist Mickey McGee highlights how the self-improvement industry thrives on portraying its readers as insufficient, leading to a cycle of purchasing prescriptions for perceived inadequacies. This imbalance can skew our understanding of value, often favoring prescriptive content over the richness of descriptive insights that stem from everyday experiences.
Practicing Discernment in Content Consumption
In navigating the content landscape, both consumers and creators must practice discernment to prevent misunderstandings between descriptive and prescriptive content. Consumers should approach content with a level of detachment, looking for the informative aspects in prescriptive material while critically assessing the authority behind it. Content creators are encouraged to be mindful of their language, avoiding definitive advice and acknowledging the personal context of their experiences. This careful approach promotes critical thinking and personal agency, allowing individuals to engage meaningfully with diverse perspectives while avoiding the pitfalls of prescriptive thinking.
"No one is ever completely safe from the critical gaze of a culture steeped in the makeover ethos." —Micki McGee
I have a theory that you can measure the decline of any social media platform by the time it takes for its feed to become a firehose of unsolicited advice. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are all sludge piles of advice now, but it took them years to devolve. TikTok took maybe 18 months. Substack Notes? Like 3 months. Threads? Instant.
Most of us (I think) can agree that the vapid posturing that occurs through posting advice on social media makes a platform less enjoyable. I don't open one of these apps in the hopes that I'll learn the one weird trick that can turn my frown upside down or give me six-pack abs. What we once loved about these platforms is how people shared their everyday descriptions of life, love, family, and curiosity. But much of that mutual exchange of experience has been ceded to the commercial interest of advice.
After all, we love advice. We also hate advice. We love it when someone can tell us what we should do next. And we also hate being told what we should do next. So what gives? Today, a description of why that is. But first, things are going to get awkward.
