Event Spotlight | Content Creation and the End of Social Media

Cross-posted on the DSI website

by Lauren Brace

Panelists Crystal Abidin, Brooke Erin Duffy, and Kelechi Okafor, in conversation with Catherine Knight Steele, discuss the performative nature of content creation and the impact of social media on both creators and viewers.

Image: Kiki Chen

Everyone has a story to tell, and everyone wants to be heard. Kelechi Okafor explained that social media has made it easier than ever to become our own journalists—sharing news from the videos we’ve recorded, filming intimate moments from home, and expressing ourselves through storytelling. However, within that “journalism,” content creation is still a performance. So how do we unpack what’s real from the “truth” sold to us on our screens?

On Feb. 26, 2026, the DISCO Network* hosted the virtual event “Content Creation and the End of Social Media,” featuring panelists Crystal Abidin, Brooke Erin Duffy, and Kelechi Okafor in conversation with Catherine Knight Steele** to discuss the complexities of content creation in social media’s current state and where they see social media heading in the future. 

For content creators, such as “day in the life” vloggers or lifestyle influencers, there isn’t a clear separation between leisure and monetized labor. While social media is an outlet for entertainment and creative expression, it’s also a livelihood—providing a sole source of income for some. Content filmed in the private space turns everyday people into mini-celebrities. We’re living in an “economy of gossip,” seeking the entertainment of others’ drama. From the cameras we all hold in our hands, phones are whipped out to record tearful confessions, childhood breakdowns, and “significant other” trends. 

Okafor expressed that “work” no longer exists as a separate entity for content creators; it enters the home and refuses to leave. Content creation makes private lives public and spams creators with an onslaught of notifications that must be attended to to “feed the insatiable beast.” 

According to Duffy, we don’t just monetize authenticity, but also vulnerability. There’s a pressure to share your “real,” vulnerable self with your audience for more engagement. That said, there’s also a level of performance behind the digital persona that can be difficult to parse through. 

The search for truth and “realness” becomes especially complicated regarding politics. Social media platforms have become a hub for political advertisements, protests, and content from anyone willing to grab a camera and “sit down” with an imagined audience to share their views. 

But according to a UNESCO survey, approximately two-thirds of content creators do not fact-check the information they share—a concerning statistic considering that Pew Research Center found that over half of U.S. adults use social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube as a news source.

Abidin shared a variety of strategies that content creators use to make sure that their political statements make it into the algorithm. Diversion is when creators use a fun and engaging clip, such as someone dancing, to capture attention before stitching the video to the message that they really want to convey. Deflection is used to bypass censorship; as an example, a content creator might show a makeup tutorial while talking about an upcoming election. 

While a screen displays cute AI-generated penguins befriending humans, the background audio might just be someone ranting about their day and asking for advice. A humorous “epic fail” video, with people falling into pools by accident, may intrigue the viewer enough to stay for the fundraising for cancer research message in the second half of the short-form video. Examples of diversion and deflection are everywhere because they’re so effective in engaging audiences.

Regarding the future of social media, some version of content creation will probably always exist. We’ll always crave connection and the power to share our stories. However, cameras force everyone to perform, and these performers do not exist in a vacuum online—to create content, especially as a way to make money, there must also be consumers of that content. We absorb content before it is fact-checked and watch exaggerated 3-part stories constantly. Our attention is manipulated through diversion and deflection, forming viewing trails that we never intended to journey down. As we move forward in content creation and consumption, our relationship with media must take into account the nuances and intent behind the camera and their impact on our technosocial world. 

*The DISCO (Digital Inquiry, Speculation, Collaboration, and Optimism) Network is a collective of interdisciplinary researchers working to envision a new anti-racist and anti-ableist digital future.

**Crystal Abidin is a digital anthropologist and ethnographer of vernacular internet cultures.

Brooke Erin Duffy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University, where she’s also a member of the Feminist Gender and Sexuality Studies faculty. 

Kelechi Okafor is a British-Nigerian multidisciplinary artist, writer, presenter, actor, and political commentator. 

Catherine Knight Steele is an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland.