It’s that time of year again, folks! The "Predictions for 2025" posts are here. The annual rite of crystal ball gazing where every "social media guru" dusts off their tarot cards to reveal groundbreaking insights—like, “Video will be popular!” (Wow, who knew?). But this year, it’s different. Because 2024 was the year of AI hype, and now every forecast for 2025 has two words plastered all over it: Generative AI.
So, if you’re in the mood for a dose of reality-check snark (with a pinch of sarcasm), here’s a "super scientific" look at where we’re all headed with social media in 2025. You may want to buckle up.
Facebook: “Still Cool, We Swear!”
1. More AI, Because That’s What You Wanted
Meta’s convinced that you’ve been dying to see more AI in your Facebook feed. Sure, you came here for friends and family updates, but what you actually wanted is AI-generated pictures of cats in pirate hats, right? Expect to see more “creative” AI prompts to distract you from how desperately Meta is trying to stay relevant.
2. AR Glasses as a Status Symbol
Get ready to see every midlife crisis manifest as a pair of Meta-branded AR glasses. These won’t do anything useful yet, but rest assured, Meta’s working hard to make AR as meaningful as 3D TVs were in 2011.
3. VR for People Who Still Believe in the Metaverse
Speaking of the Metaverse, yes, Meta still thinks VR’s “the next big thing.” Expect more avatar-based games and virtual experiences that no one asked for. But hey, maybe your mom’s finally ready to become a pixelated version of herself in Horizon Worlds.
4. Video, Video, Video
Imagine Facebook, but with even more video you didn’t sign up to see. This time, it’s not just your friends’ clips—it’s an endless stream of TikTok-wannabe videos chosen “just for you” by an algorithm that knows you better than you know yourself. Or at least it thinks it does.
5. AI Ad Improvements, or “Let the Robots Run Your Marketing”
Meta’s Advantage+ is here to save you time by letting AI target and build your ads. Forget human strategy—this year, the robots will handle your creative, targeting, and budgeting. Who needs human marketers, right?
Instagram: Lost in the Algorithm
6. Gen AI Enhancement Filters That No One Asked For
2025 is the year of the “Instagram glow-up” thanks to AI. Expect filters that take your actual photos and transform them into a hyperreal version of reality where you look like an airbrushed superhero from a Marvel movie.
7. AR Glasses Meet Instagram Stories
Why stop at a selfie? With Meta Ray Bans, you can now turn everything around you into Instagram Stories. We’ll see new filters, Ray Ban-exclusive content, and other “immersive experiences” designed to make you buy things, of course.
8. Augmented Reality Meets “Influencer Decor”
AR technology is about to help you visualize influencer-endorsed furniture in your living room. Because who doesn’t want to see how that $10,000 velvet couch you can’t afford would look in your dingy apartment?
9. Easing Threads’ Political Ban (Because That Went Well Last Time)
Meta will probably let political content sneak back into Threads because, well, it turns out people actually want to talk about news on a real-time feed. But don’t worry, they’ll spin it as a “free speech enhancement.”
Snapchat: The Social Media Enigma
10. Finally Giving Up on AR Glasses
After years of trying to bring Snap’s Spectacles to the masses, 2025 might be the year Snap acknowledges that Meta and Apple are way too rich to compete with. They’ll be “focusing on other AR experiences” (aka, quietly dropping Spectacles).
11. Snapchat+ Gets Way Cooler for a Price
Snapchat+ has proven to be a big moneymaker. Expect even more exclusive features—at least until they get copied by Instagram. Maybe next year you can even pay to not see those “sponsored snaps” from energy drink brands clogging up your inbox.
12. Connecting IRL, Like a Digital Wingman
Snap’s new features will remind users where their friends have been, complete with prompts for spontaneous meetups. Because, you know, nothing says “private connection” like location data you can’t opt out of.
13. Ads in Your Private Messages, Yay!
Snap wants to start monetizing DMs with ads, because nothing ruins a private conversation quite like a targeted ad for acne cream right after you’ve texted your crush.
LinkedIn: Where Everyone’s an Expert
14. Scaling Back AI to Keep It “Human”
LinkedIn’s also leaning heavily into AI tools, but they’re realizing that too much AI might be a problem. After all, how many “self-written” resume enhancements can the world take before everyone has the same “unique” profile summary?
15. Creating AI Career Coaches to Tell You What to Do With Your Life
Next year, LinkedIn will roll out a “gen AI career pathing” feature, which will use your past jobs and some AI-powered fortune-telling to suggest new career moves—so you, too, can reach the pinnacle of thought leadership.
16. Live Business Webinars: The Netflix No One Asked For
Remember how LinkedIn tried “Stories” and it was terrible? Well, they’ve got another killer idea: live-streaming business webinars! The big LinkedIn hope for 2025 is that people will want to binge-watch workplace seminars. Netflix, you’re safe.
TikTok: Shopping... or Else
17. The Relentless Shopping Push Continues
TikTok is bringing Chinese-style live-stream shopping to Western markets, again, again, and again. Because this time, surely, Gen Z will stop watching dances long enough to impulse-buy something.
18. In-App Mini Programs—Because You’ll Never Leave TikTok Again
TikTok wants to be the app you never close, with “mini programs” for everything from ordering food to hailing rides. It’s like if your entire life could fit into one app, except everything costs money, and nothing ships in under two weeks.
19. In-Video Search: Stalking Made Easier
2025 might be the year TikTok adds a feature where you can highlight an object in a video and search for it directly. Convenient for shopping...and incredibly invasive for privacy.
Pinterest: The Quiet Overachiever
20. AI Try-Ons for Everything
Pinterest is doubling down on AI, offering “try-on” features for clothing, makeup, and furniture. Yes, you’ll be able to try on that luxury item you’ll never afford and live your best aspirational life.
21. Catalog Uploads Made Easier
Forget about manual product uploads; Pinterest will soon be able to automatically catalog products from your website. How’s that for passive income... if you’ve got a steady stream of Pinterest shoppers, that is.
22. AR Glasses Integration for Home Decor... Someday
Pinterest is probably eyeing Meta’s AR glasses, but they’re not in a rush. Maybe in 2025 you’ll get to “see” what a new couch looks like in your living room—through a screen that costs as much as the couch itself.
X (Formerly Known as Twitter): The Wild West of Social Media
23. Payments Are Coming, Allegedly
Elon Musk’s dreams of making X an “everything app” are hanging on this mythical payments feature that keeps getting delayed. But hey, maybe by the end of 2025, you’ll be able to tip your favorite conspiracy theorists directly from your X account.
24. All-In on Video, Even Though No One Watches It
Despite everyone’s eye-rolls, X is pushing for more video, planning to launch a video feed that might finally dethrone YouTube. Or... it might just be yet another forgotten tab no one clicks.
25. AI-Enhanced Search: Now With More Conspiracy Theories!
Musk’s latest play: enhancing X’s search with AI to “deliver the truth.” More likely, it’s a chance to amp up the algorithm so you never miss a single hot take, no matter how far it strays from reality.
26. Trump and Musk: The Dynamic Duo
With Donald Trump re-elected, X is looking to capitalize on the influence, because why wouldn’t the richest guy and the (second) most popular reality star join forces? It’ll be the ultimate "everything app" for, well, some people.
Wrapping It Up
And there you have it: 2025’s social media landscape, predicted with a dash of realism and a whole lot of insights (read: nonsense) and unnecessary features that make apps increasingly resemble an episode of Black Mirror, then buckle up because 2025 is going to be a wild ride.
Honorable Mentions: Other Predictions for 2025
Just because these didn’t make the main list doesn’t mean they’re any less plausible (or ridiculous). Here are a few extra gems to watch out for:
Platform-specific AI Influencers
Forget real influencers. With Meta, TikTok, and X all in on generative AI, who needs real people? AI-generated influencers will start taking over feeds, hawking products, and "relating" to you on a deeply manufactured level. These avatars will be perfectly calibrated to never age, never err, and never cancel a brand deal. Real influencers might be in trouble.
The Rise of “Ethical” Social Media
After another year of privacy scandals, some genius will try to launch a “pure” social media app that respects user data and never sells ad space. It’ll probably crash and burn under the weight of its own promises within a few months—but hey, at least they tried.
Subscription-Based Privacy Controls
Because nothing says “we care about your privacy” like charging for it, expect certain platforms to start offering “premium privacy” packages. For a monthly fee, you’ll be able to prevent random strangers from seeing your content, have better data encryption, and maybe even get an ad-free experience. Isn’t it lovely when companies monetize their users’ most basic digital rights?
More “Health Warnings” on Screen Time
2025 is also the year social media platforms pretend to care about mental health. Every app will have a pop-up telling you to “take a break,” as if that’s going to stop us from doom-scrolling. But hey, they did their part, right?
Fake “Live” Features
TikTok and Instagram will probably add a “fake live” option where you can pre-record a video, but it looks like it’s happening live. Because nothing says authenticity like pretending to be real-time.
So, What Does This Mean for You, The Social Media Marketer?
In all seriousness (if there’s any left at this point), the pace of change in social media means marketers have to stay flexible. Expect more “AI-powered” tools, but don’t rely solely on them; platforms might get obsessed with certain trends (hello, VR) but don’t abandon your core strategies for shiny new distractions.
The best way forward? Stay skeptical and keep experimenting, but never forget what really matters to your audience. Authenticity is still king, even as algorithms churn out eerily “personalized” content and virtual influencers fill your feeds. Don’t let the hype pull you too far away from the basics: know your audience, create valuable content, and—above all—don’t lose your humanity in the AI-driven chaos of it all.
Cheers to 2025. Here’s hoping we survive it with our sanity (mostly) intact.
Willow and Sage Winter 2025