Fewer adults in the UK posting on social media

[Dos_Box]

I saw this article on the BBC News site the other day and found it interesting - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgqk718l4neo - as a member of genx we did tend to post a lot less than others, but it seems that this is spreading now.
With apps such as WhatsApp allowing us to have private group chats for sharing things to friends, and other platforms now rampent with bots, ads and random posts from people you have never heard of I suppose this was inevitable.

 

 

[jthompson]

I'm not an expert, but my suspicion is that there are correlations to be found between the en****ification of social media platforms, the posting rate of grown adults, and the number of better or more important things that grown adults have to do during any given day (e.g. wiping little bottoms, cooking spaghetti, watching a properly produced television programme).

[flyinghaggis]

I was actually thinking about this the other day as I'd been discussing job applications with HR. I was shocked to learn part of their form now requires that job applicants submit a note of their social media profiles for the major platforms (Facebook, X, Instagram, etc) in order to run an AI check of the content posted to vet potential employees! 

 

When you couple that with the push in recent years by goverments to remove online anonimity it's hardly surprising that many are growing increasingly wary of what they post on social media and avoiding it's use altogether!

 

 

Edited April 10 by flyinghaggis

[mikes]

yeah I always hear of social media vetting but what would happen if I were to apply to one of these jobs without any social media?   I mean I use Whatsapp to speak to my friends and family but never saw a need to have public facing social media.  And from what I've seen of the students here they also like to have privated social media that only their friends can see as well  so perhaps we may have more of this as people age?

Or should I sign up for social media, join some Bible Study groups, and post there once a month?

[Gibbo]

I read the article and wondered if it meant that people were just posting less status updates and check-ins.

 

Social media gets a bad press these days but I still frequently use it for all the nerdy groups and pages I'm in (fellow owners of my car, old maps, bridge of the day, brick collecting and so on).  It's far superior than having lots of different forums and the hassle of registering and signing into each one, and no doubt heavily contributed to the almost death of forums.

 

I think if you stay away from politics, religion and the local busybody groups, it's still a perfectly good (and free) platform.

[pete]

It would be interesting to see if the rampant stupidity* on LinkedIn has gone up at the same time.

 

*posting like an idiot, but on a platform directly linked to your employer.

  

On 13/04/2026 at 13:55, mikes said:

yeah I always hear of social media vetting but what would happen if I were to apply to one of these jobs without any social media?

 

"We couldn't find any public social media for you / you haven't listed any accounts"

 

"Well yeah, when I was at school they taught us using your real name on the Internet was a stupid idea that would come back to bite you later."

 

"Yup, ex-partner got a bit weird.  Had to shut that all down." closes that avenue of enquiry.

 

Pick one.

 

[Andrew_C]

I wonder how an interviewer would field "Yeah sure; I'll tell you, but I want to check out my future team too..."

[Gibbo]

1 hour ago, pete said:

It would be interesting to see if the rampant stupidity* on LinkedIn has gone up at the same time.

 

 

Very much so.  Did you see the slating that one of the Apprentice candidates got on last week's interview show for completely inappropriate posts and pics?

[jthompson]

3 minutes ago, Gibbo said:

 

Very much so.  Did you see the slating that one of the Apprentice candidates got on last week's interview show for completely inappropriate posts and pics?

I usually really enjoy* watching The Apprentice but have missed the current series.  I've never watched any of the candidates and thought "I'd like to work with them". Quite the opposite, in fact.

*although I'm not sure that 'enjoy' is quite the word I'm after. I'm usually hiding behind a cushion and having a sweaty, full-body physiological reaction.

[pete]

1 hour ago, Gibbo said:

 

Very much so.  Did you see the slating that one of the Apprentice candidates got on last week's interview show for completely inappropriate posts and pics?

 

Unless I'm guaranteed Alan Sugar gets savaged by a succession of increasingly angry badgers, I'm not the apprentice's target audience.

 

But I appreciate the candidates making the whole of the UK aware they shouldn't be considered for any role:

 

Application rejection reason: "You convinced the whole of the UK you were a sphincter on national TV".

[AlistairB1983]

17 hours ago, pete said:

Unless I'm guaranteed Alan Sugar gets savaged by a succession of increasingly angry badgers, I'm not the apprentice's target audience.

 

 

Now that's a show I'm willing to tune in for!