A tweet lasts 15 to 30 minutes before engagement drops off. A Facebook post gets 75% of its impressions in the first two to five hours. Instagram gives you maybe 48 hours if you're lucky. LinkedIn is the most generous of the bunch at 24 to 72 hours, and people treat it like a long-term asset. The average lifespan of a social media post across all platforms is around 18 hours.

18 hours. Then it's gone.

I've managed content for brands for 6 years, and this reality still fascinates me. You build a strategy, brief a designer, write the copy, get approvals, schedule the post, and then watch it disappear into the feed before most of your audience even sees it. The algorithm buries it, the next post takes its place, and the cycle resets.

This is the disposable nature of organic social media, and most marketing teams are not honest enough about it.

The standard response is to post more. To deliver more volume, more frequency, more content. Just more. And yes, consistency matters, but volume alone doesn't fix the problem. If your posts are living for 20 minutes, posting twice as many just means twice as many things disappearing twice as fast.

The smarter approach is to think about content differently. Not every post needs to be built for longevity, but some do.

• The ones that teach something,

• The ones that document a process,

• or the ones that make a sharp argument have a second life.

People save them, share them weeks later, link to them in threads, and that should not be an accident. That's structure and strategy doing its job.

The other thing that has worked for me is distribution and repurposing. Essentially trying different formats for the same idea. A post's idea doesn't die at 20 minutes if you're actively transforming it into new formats. Turn it into a short article, pull three quotes for the next week's content, or turn it into a short video.

Algorithms are designed to reward fresh material, and human attention spans are not getting longer.

Fighting that is pointless, and working around it is the whole job.

The explosion of AI adoption inundated my feed with so many cool apps and use cases that I've got to admit I felt exhausted trying to keep up with everything.

Then I stumbled upon the term of "inadequacy" and it just clicked.

I realized I am among the 60% of people who feel their achievements are insufficient when looking at others online.

Turns out there is a lot of self-doubt and a constant feeling that everyone else is winning, except for oneself in social media.

The good part is that it's not your fault.

It’s time we discuss this and recognize just how absurd it is.

The Timeline of Infinite Success

The successful marketing entrepreneur announcing their big hits never posts about the three years of struggle meals and client rejections. That influencer photo with the perfect life surely took like 11 attempts.

That's the type of content we see all day, and they might be oblivious to its impact on others and the cost of capturing attention.

Data firm ElectroIQ reports that nearly 60% of social media users confirm that platforms damage their self-esteem.

There's extensive research confirming that social media has affected people's mental health in so many negative and darker ways than just feeling stuck professionally.

There's so much research and cool facts here if you want to take a deeper look on this matter:

https://electroiq.com/stats/social-media-mental-health-statistics/

Platforms Love It

I was a social media manager for years, and I know exactly how platforms work. Good news never performs, it's the triggering content that does.

That's why I'm partially ok with countries like Spain banning or restricting social media for teens under 16. If I had kids, I would be very overprotective about what they see online while they're still young.

I know the algorithms are designed to show you triggering content to keep you engaged and glued to your screen. Sometimes the content you find is entertaining and useful, but other times it is not great.

So if kids aren't careful, platforms will feed them an endless stream of harmful comparisons, unrealistic standards, and just toxic, gross content. Even Mark Zuckerberg didn't let his own daughters use Facebook.

They all know.

What We Owe People as Marketers

People come to social media to relax, escape, or maybe learn something cool. They're not looking to feel worse about themselves.

As someone who has built content strategies for years, I know we have a choice about what we put out there. Yes, triggering content performs better, but triggering doesn't have to mean nasty or harmful.

We are the creative ones in our companies, and we have the privilege of connecting with people and making them feel things.

The best content I've ever created made people feel entertained or learned something, most of the time it just made them laugh, and that's enough.

What Actually Helps

Going back to the feeling of inadequacy, start by unfollowing anyone who makes you feel inadequate. Train that algorithm.

Next time your feed makes you feel like you're getting stuck professionally or down in any way, just mute a few words:

Social media can be very useful when used intentionally.

Many of us have noticed a shift in what we see online thanks to The Agorithm

The Algorithm now dictates our feeds and it has profound effects on our friendships, well-being, and work.

As a marketer, I sometimes feel like a drug dealer because my job is to give people their dopamine fix to keep them glued to their screens.

And oftentimes, I have to put myself in users’ shoes every day to see how the algorithms impact their experience, to see what content is popular. And I've got to admit it's extremely overwhelming.

The things we must do to please the algorithm so you see more of my content.

Why You See More Drama Than Updates From Friends

In 2016, Instagram said users missed 70% of their chronological feed, which led to the algorithmic approach. By 2024, Instagram shifted to prioritize views over likes, according to Adam Mosseri, Instagram's CEO. Facebook also started prioritizing creator posts and public content in the main feed in mid-2022 to compete with TikTok, which means you see fewer updates from friends.

A few years ago, social media was a place to catch up with friends, share moments, and see what everyone was up to.

But then the algorithms took over and platforms like YouTube and Instagram transitioned from chronological feeds to algorithm-driven ones, prioritizing content that generates the most engagement rather than what fosters genuine connection.

A 2023 stat showed that 66% of Instagram users discovered short-form videos through the algorithm, proving how it favors engaging formats over chronological posts from friends.

Simply put, platforms want to keep you glued to the screen and marketers heavily contribute to this.

Marketers and platforms discovered that bombarding users with sensational, provocative, or emotionally charged content keeps them engaged longer. The more time someone spends scrolling, the more ads they see.

For platforms and marketers, it’s a high-stakes game of attention.

A recent survey also found that 53% of B2C marketers are worried about changes to social media algorithms, mostly because of reduced organic reach and the pressure to optimize for engagement-driven feeds.

For regular users, the psychological impact of this shift is huge and rarely discussed. Instead of seeing updates from friends about their lives, we’re confronted with triggering posts that can leave us feeling drained or anxious. Our feeds have become a constant highlight reel of drama, sensationalism, and negativity, eroding the personal connections that once flourished there. Facebook’s algorithmic feeds now focus on triggering engagements, AI-curated highlights, and emotionally engaging content.

Many think social media is harmless and treat it as a casual way to pass time. But when was the last time you felt uplifted scrolling through your feed? Do you even remember what you saw yesterday? How much time did you lose?

Will Social Media Ever Prioritize Real Connection Again?

Industry experts have mixed opinions. Some predict a shift toward platforms that prioritize genuine connections over engagement metrics. The rise of alternative networks focused on community and deeper interaction suggests that users are craving something more meaningful.

According to Sprout Social, audiences indeed want more authenticity, and platforms are focusing on real conversations as algorithms move away from AI-generated content and try to encourage genuine interactions, especially as engagement becomes harder to maintain. Social Media Today’s 2026 report also notes that major platforms like Facebook are testing chronological feeds alongside AI-driven ones because of EU regulatory pressure. This could help reduce algorithmic dominance and address the fatigue caused by optimized, triggering content.

One possible change is the development of algorithms that also learn from your emotional responses. I wouldn't be surprised to see platforms requesting access to your Health apps to track your stress levels and using your camera to track your eyeballs and review your facial expressions. Yikes.

Still, change won’t happen overnight. As long as traditional platforms continue to profit from sensationalism, the challenge will be finding a balance between engagement and meaningful connection.

Is a system that prioritizes clicks over connection possible? I don't think so to be honest. At least not for free.

Engagement Over Connection

Social media companies’ main goal is to maximize user engagement, which usually means more profit. The more you interact, the more they can monetize your attention.

Algorithms are designed to keep you scrolling and coming back, not to foster meaningful connections for you.

If you ever found yourself scrolling through endless posts only to feel exhausted afterward, that’s social media fatigue creeping in. The relentless cycle of curated content can leave you feeling more disconnected than ever, even as you spend hours online.

These platforms were meant to connect us, yet they often do the opposite, isolating users through algorithmic manipulation. The irony.

Curation Curation Curation

Right now, we have the power to curate our feeds by engaging with content we like or by staying away from the For You feeds. Most platforms offer a feed exclusively for the people you follow, some also offer the option to create curated lists.

Sadly, we can't fight the algorithm. As users in today's social media, we have to make an effort to take control of our digital environment.

And marketers should adapt to that, too.

And while I partially agreed for a moment, it made me stop and reflect. Was it really luck that got me into the game of crypto marketing, or was there something more at play?

After all, while some may claim that luck is simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time, I do believe that that kind of rare, flashy, and accidental luck is very real sometimes.

But there is another form of luck that people often overlook: the hard, tedious, and complex luck you build.

What Does Luck Really Mean?

The story of how I got into crypto is about a friend who was leaving his job at a crypto news company and offered me the job as his replacement. I had free time at the moment and took it as a side gig.

Many say it was lucky that I got this job offer, and while it came completely out of the blue, what people overlook is the years of marketing experience I had and my existing reputation for my friend to consider me for that job.

My success story didn't happen overnight, and it is certainly not people's fault to think like that.

Confusing Chance With Luck

Today's social media loves amplifying stories of overnight success and actively distorting our perception of how luck and chance work.

Creators do mention the years they spent building an audience, the privilege of having free time to create content, or the connections that helped them get started, but it's usually not their most popular content.

People sharing trading wins or showing off marketing campaign results are selling the dream and those posts usually make it seem like these outcomes are common or easily replicable.

Error.

The reality is that for every viral success story, there are thousands of unseen failures and attempts that never make it to your feed.

Social media algorithms also play a role by prioritizing flashy, dramatic and oftentimes fake content which further skews our sense of how often such luck actually happens.

Unless you follow a creator from the very beginning, we rarely see them during their yearly grind until they're famous.

Even more subtle is the way social media encourages us to compare ourselves to others.

Seeing someone's lucky breakout can make us feel like we're missing out or not trying hard enough, when in reality, chance and unseen effort play a much larger role than we realize.

The Hidden Forces Shaping Our Luck

Our perception of luck is heavily influenced by societal factors as well.

For instance, those coming from privileged backgrounds may have access to resources that create the illusion of luck. They might attend private schools, receive mentorship from influential figures, or inherit networks that facilitate success.

On the other hand, those who find it harder to break through, tend to believe that success is merely a matter of luck.

This contrast highlights how external circumstances can shape our understanding of what it means to be lucky.

That’s why I believe it's crucial to understand that while some factors are outside our control (like where you are born), many are not (what you do with the resources available to you). Also, material conditions such as socioeconomic status, geographical location, and access to education can significantly impact our opportunities.

At this point, I could go on and on about how to build out your luck.

Step out of your comfort zone, build networks, be proactive, bla bla bla

But I don't want to turn into a motivational content creator and tell you what to do.

Instead, I'd like to give you stuff to think about.

So, when someone tells you got lucky, you should know you've made it.

Just don't get too comfortable. There's so much more luck to be built.

Cheers and godspeed.

We celebrate mediocrity, mistake noise for traction, and call ourselves “experts” because we can farm likes on X. This isn’t a personal attack. I’ve been guilty of it too. But if you want to be a real digital marketer, you need to break out of these delusions.

Let’s go through them:

1. Crypto marketers only operate inside X and Discord. Most wouldn’t survive on YouTube, Instagram, or SEO

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: crypto marketing is X threads, a million Telegram channels and Discord pings. Maybe a Medium blog if you’re feeling fancy.

Meanwhile, outside of Web3, entire ecosystems run on YouTube, Instagram, SEO, and paid ads. And most crypto marketers wouldn’t know where to start. We’ve lowered the bar so much that being decent at X memes is considered “top-tier marketing.”

But if you wouldn’t survive at a DTC brand, a SaaS startup, or even a basic e-commerce company, then you haven’t “mastered” marketing, you’ve mastered farming engagement inside a bubble.

The skillset doesn’t transfer, and that should concern you.

2. Because PMF is rare, marketers overhype soft signals

Let’s be honest: most crypto products don’t have product-market fit. They have a Discord server, a few hundred likes, and maybe an X Spaces with 200 people showing up if they’re lucky.

But because real traction is so rare, we’ve started overvaluing fake traction like Discord activity, X replies, vanity metrics. “Look at the community!” becomes a copium line to hide the fact that no one actually wants or uses the product.

This is textbook prevalence-induced concept change (PICC): when real wins disappear, people start celebrating small, meaningless ones.

3. Marketers are set up to fail when PMF doesn’t exist

I’ve seen it over and over. Teams without a clear product-market fit think they can “fix it with marketing.” Spoiler: you can’t.

No amount of clever branding, meme campaigns, or viral threads will make people want a product that doesn’t solve a real problem. But because PMF is so rare in this industry, marketing becomes a scapegoat. The product flops? Blame the marketing team.

Marketers are set up to fail because we’re not selling real value, we’re selling potential, and it burns people out fast.

4. The real flex is building skills that transfer outside of Web3

The crypto space loves to pretend it’s “reinventing” marketing. In reality, we’re ignoring decades of proven strategies from Web2 because we think being early means we can skip the fundamentals.

If your skills don’t translate to Instagram, YouTube, paid ads, or brand building outside of X, you’re not a marketing expert, you’re a Twitter operator.

And there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you’re honest about it. But if you want a career that lasts beyond the next cycle, you need skills that survive outside of the echo chamber.

The real flex isn’t being big on X, it’s being able to drive growth anywhere.

Final Thought

Crypto is fun, it moves fast, and it’s chaotic. But don’t confuse chaos with competence. Don’t let easy engagement on X trick you into thinking you’ve cracked the marketing code.

The people who will win long-term are the ones who can market real products, on any platform, to any audience, not just farm likes in one niche corner of the internet.