Social Media 2025
Ayup! As we close out the year, I've been reflecting on the increasingly widening gap between the good and the bad of social media. On one hand, we have the Fediverse. Calmer, slower, ad free and no algorithm. On the other hand, we have mainstream social media. Designed to keep you hooked and make money from you, while gradually becoming completely pointless.
One of the first posts here on my personal blog was titled How to Lose All Enthusiasm For Everything Fun. It followed a period of turning all of my social media accounts into a work-related bore fest. This was a result of a wibbly wobbly patch in my business. Thankfully, towards the end of it all, I realised that social media has zero influence on my income.
Freeeeeeedom! Let's get back to the fun times. All things visual, creating, sharing, engaging and learning from other like-minded folks. I'm currently active on Mastodon, Bluesky, LinkedIn and Instagram. The latter, I assumed, would be a good idea when I got back into photography. Oh how wrong I was.
Best to worst
Purely from a photography viewpoint, here's a quick rundown of the platforms I use. Additionally, it's worth noting that I'm not a professional. None of the below musings are in any way related to finding work online.
Although I've started bringing in a small side-income from Unsplash+, I only use social media to share work and keep up-to-date with other photographers and visual artists.
Mastodon
Version used: Desktop - in browser
Hands down, my favourite social media platform this year. The OG of the Fediverse. Calm isn't usually a word you'd associate with social media. But that's exactly what you get over on Mastodon. With a chronological timeline containing zero adverts, you're in full control of your feed.
For those who are easily overwhelmed, you can simply follow a few people and only see their posts. Want a little more activity? Follow a hashtag or two. Prefer a busy feed? Follow any accounts you like the look of and all of the hashtags you're interested in. There really is a solution for all different personality types.
The people are also one of the key ingredients in Mastodon's success. Friendly, welcoming, helpful and generous are just a few words that spring to mind. Folks will go out of their way to help you. It's truly heartwarming.
For photographers, your images will also show up on Pixelfed, the Fediverse version of Instagram. This helps to further increase your reach and engagement. Furthermore, you can follow Pixelfed accounts and see their images in your timeline. You may even want to set up a separate account on Pixelfed. I tried it out for a week or so, but personally prefer the multipurpose format of Mastodon.
Mastodon also feels calmer than Bluesky, though that might be from the smaller user base, as well as being less US-centric (given the current state of American politics). Like Bluesky, Mastodon doesn’t have algorithms, so everything’s chronological, plus my posts aren’t hidden or randomly not displayed for “reasons.”
Bluesky
Version used: Desktop - in browser
Next up, let's talk about Bluesky. Another Twitter alternative, which, in terms of the format, I'm a big fan of. These types of platforms are popular for their wide range of uses. From text only posts, to sharing links and of course, posting photos.
Although a decentralised network, it uses its own protocol (AT Protocol) rather than ActivityPub, which the Fediverse uses. The two can be connected, but I'm not overly clued-up on any of that side of things.
Anyhow, this is another space where you won't see a single ad. Bliss. As with Mastodon, you have a chronological timeline, but also a Discover feed for posts related to your interests. At the time of writing this article, there's no option to follow hashtags. Boooooooo!
The photography community on Bluesky is positively thriving. It's really starting to feel like a viable Twitter alternative recently. I'm also noticing more and more brands and organisations popping up. This is always welcome. It's nice to tag places (National Trust, etc.) if you post a photo from one of their locations.
Current and future users are most compelled by the chance to control what shows up in their feed rather than succumb to another algorithm, and enjoy a space unmarred by ads.
Version used: Desktop - in browser
What a load of old bollocks LinkedIn has become in 2025. Yes, it's good for connecting with clients and other photographers, but that's about it. Reframing it as just another social media site would be appropriate from here on in. It's certainly not the place to look for work any more.
The lengthy (and oddly laid out) posts people commonly write are mostly unreadable. You've conjured something up out of nothing for the benefit of nobody. Paired with the follower obsessed folks, it's easy to see why people refer to LinkedIn as a cringe fest.
Then there's the connection requests from people who have zero interest in you, alongside paid ads in your inbox. Oh, and let's not forget the algorithm, which decides who will see your posts. What a chaotic mess. As you can probably tell, LinkedIn hasn't been one of my faves this year. I'll continue to use it in 2026, as I still have some nice connections on there, but I'll be spending less time there, for sure.
The LinkedIn algorithm operates a bit differently than most other social platforms’ — it’s specifically designed to prevent content from going viral.
Version used: Desktop - in browser
Lastly, the platform that every photographer loves to hate, Instagram. I popped back on there earlier this year and already regret it. Not because of the ads, the reach limiting algorithm or the almost unusable desktop interface, but the pure unflexible rigidness of the grid.
Having been off of the platform for so long, I became accustomed to posting images of any shape, size or ratio with zero consequences. All Instagram wants is 4:5 portrait images. Yes, you can post other sizes and even landscape, but it all ends up looking a complete mess on your grid.
I've completely stopped posting on my account for now. I'll give it some time and decide what to do. Most likely, maintain a presence (people occasionally contact me through Instagram) or just completely get rid.
Either way, Instagram is one of the most pointless, soul-destroying social media platforms for photographers. It's busy, loud and, generally speaking, no longer an ideal solution for still images.
I was scrolling through Instagram the other day - as one does - when I realised, after scrolling for several minutes, that I hadn’t seen a single photograph from an actual photographer. Sure, there were a few still images, but they were either from celebrities, or part of news stories. The majority of what I was seeing was reels and ads. It seems Meta really, really wants to turn Instagram into TikTok. Unfortunately, it’s becoming the worst of both worlds.
Conclusion
So there we have it. Part appreciation, part rant (sorry). As social media splits off into two extremely different directions, only one path leads calmly towards sanity. The other, well, let's not go there.
Ultimately, decentralised social media (Mastodon & Bluesky) is where I'll be focussing most of my time and attention gong forward. A slower pace with a chronological feed, and not an advert in sight. You don't get that very often anymore. It's a rare treat, that I think more and more photographers are coming to appreciate.
