Social media is an ever-changing forum. The various algorithms, sponsored posts and, more recently, the emergence of platforms like TikTok have all been hot topics in the past few years. Considering how quickly social media evolves over time, many experts have commented on the direction social media is going in the future. 

This year, the video-sharing app TikTok began featuring marketing campaigns. This comes as advertisers are realizing the marketing potential the app’s audience has in gender, age and location location targeted advertising. With emerging social media platforms also taking on the same level of advertising as more established platforms like Facebook and Instagram, some experts believe advertising will become more regulated.

Advertisers used social media influencers to push their products as a form of native advertising, which is less intrusive than pop-up ads other forms of advertising. However, experts believe consumers are wanting more transparency in influencer ads, leading to a future with more governmental regulations from the Federal Trade Commission about transparency in labeling sponsored content.

Others believe that social media is currently moving towards search algorithms that lead the user to other forms of content. This means that while users are on a platform, they are encountering various related content, which experts say is a move bringing users to more diverse sources. So, what does this mean for journalism? People are accessing news and other content through various platforms like social media and other outlets, which diversifies the viewpoints the user is exposed to. 

For now, it seems that everyone is at the mercy of decisions the CEOs and other officials behind these social media companies make. With these predicted changes in mind, both journalists and everyday users of social media will adapt and take on new challenges.