The Best Articles in Social Media
The most useful articles in Social Media from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Social Media Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved in Social Media by Refind users.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
NEW! Most Popular Social Networks 2003
Timeline of most popular social networks from 2003 to 2022. Measured by monthly active users worldwide. Data source: press releases, 10-k sec filings, indust...
What is ...?
New to Social Media? These articles make an excellent introduction.
How to ...?
How to talk to conspiracy theorists—and still be kind
Experts and r/ChangeMyView subreddit moderators offer 10 tips to debunk conspiracy theories convincingly—and kindly.
How to Dox Yourself on the Internet
A step-by-step guide to finding and removing your personal information from the internet.
How to see who viewed your TikTok profile
Only you can see who viewed your profile, but if you turn on the feature, then you're also consenting to let other people see that you've viewed their profile.
Trending
These links are currently making the rounds in Social Media on Refind.
The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok
Or how, exactly, platforms die.
Ad spending on Twitter falls by over 70% in Dec
Advertising spend on Twitter Inc dropped by 71% in December, data from an advertising research firm showed, as top advertisers slashed their spending on the social-media platform after Elon Musk's takeover.
We need boredom to live better lives. But social media is destroying it
When boredom creeps in, many of us turn to social media. But that may be preventing us from reaching a transformative level of boredom.
The Shit Show
Well, it happened. We knew it was coming. A prick pulled the plug. And what bothers me most about it is how Space Karen did it. My mom passed away just before Christmas. Her decline was something…
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles in Social Media—all under 10 minutes.
Digital detoxes don’t actually work
A digital detox is a period in which a person voluntarily refrains from using digital devices including smartphones, computers and social media platforms. However, recent research has shown that…
«The internet has made it possible to talk at length with strangers who share your passion for any subject—make the most of it»
The internet wants to be fragmented
Throwing the whole world into a single room together doesn't work.
«Disagreement in society is necessary for progress, but it’s most constructive when it’s mediated by bonds of trust and affinity and semi-privacy.»
The irresistible voyeurism of “day in my life” videos
These are the days of our lives.
Here’s how a Twitter engineer says it will break in the coming weeks
One Twitter insider says the company’s current staffing isn’t able to sustain the platform.
Instagram Is Over
The app’s original purpose has been lost in the era of “performance” media.
«Simply being on Instagram is a very different thing from actively engaging with it. Participating means throwing pictures into a void, which is why it’s become kind of cringe. To do so earnestly suggests a blithe unawareness of your surroundings, like shouting into the phone in public.»
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles in Social Media.
What is External Validation And When It Becomes Unhealthy
Learn more about external validation. Why we crave it. Why it can be a good. And how to heal from constantly needing external validation.
TikTok influencers are leading Gen Z off a debt cliff
“Buy now, pay later” services could very well be jeopardizing the financial futures...
«28% of Black and Hispanic Americans signed up for at least one point-of-sale loan in January 2022, compared with 14% of white Americans.»
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
It’s not just a phase.
Your attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen
Social media and many other facets of modern life are destroying our ability to concentrate. We need to reclaim our minds while we still can
«“an attentional pathogenic culture” – an environment in which sustained and deep focus is harder for all of us»
Is Everything Falling Apart?
Jonathan Haidt thinks so. I’m not so sure.
«Still, looking around today, I don’t see quite as much bleakness as Haidt seems to see. And one reason, I think, is that I don’t see the causes of our current troubles as being quite as novel as he does. We’ve been here before, and humankind survived.»
Thought Leaders
We monitor hundreds of thought leaders, influencers, and newsletters in Social Media, including:
Benedict Evans
Trying to work out what's going on, and what happens next. Mostly tech.
zeynep tufekci
Complex systems, wicked problems. Society, technology, science and more. @Columbia professor. @NYTimes columnist. My newsletter @insight http://theinsight.org

danah boyd
sociotechnical researcher | Microsoft Research, Georgetown, Data & Society | zephoria@zephoria.org | (@zephoria@mastodon.social) | https://zephoria.substack.com
Neil Patel
Co-founder of Neil Patel Digital. New York Times bestselling author, top 100 entrepreneur under 30 by Obama, and top 10 marketer by Forbes.

Adrienne Fichter
Feminist Digital Killjoy. Investigative Tech Reporter @Republikmagazin und http://DNIP.ch. With 🇷🇺🇺🇦 roots.
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Social Media, including:
MIT Technology Review
Our in-depth reporting on innovation reveals and explains what’s really happening now to help you know what’s coming next. http://technologyreview.com/newsletters
Scott Galloway
Product of big government @ucla @ucberkeley | Prof Marketing @NYUStern | Right of Center-Left | #ProfGPod @PivotPod | Strategy Sprint http://section4.com
a16z
we invest in software eating the world http://a16z.com/portfolio/ http://a16z.com/podcasts/
Nieman Lab
We are the Nieman Journalism Lab, part of @niemanfdn at Harvard. We're trying to figure out the future of news.
Visual Capitalist
Data-driven visual content focused on global trends, investing, technology, and the economy.
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It’s a mix of human and algorithmic curation, following a number of steps:
- We monitor 10k+ sources and 1k+ thought leaders on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
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The result: lists of the best and most useful articles on hundreds of topics.
How does Refind detect «timeless» pieces?
We focus on pieces with long shelf-lives—not news. We determine «timelessness» via a number of metrics, for example, the consumption pattern of links over time.
How many sources does Refind monitor?
We monitor 10k+ content sources on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
Which sources does Refind monitor in Social Media?
We monitor hundreds of sources in Social Media, including MIT Technology Review, Scott Galloway, a16z, Nieman Lab, Visual Capitalist, and many more.
Who are the thought leaders in Social Media?
We follow dozens of thought leaders in Social Media, including Benedict Evans, zeynep tufekci, danah boyd, Neil Patel, Adrienne Fichter.
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