The Story Is this the end of social media? - The Sunday Story
Jan 11, 2026
Sathnam Sanghera, a bestselling author and Times columnist known for his insightful commentary on social issues, shares his personal journey of quitting social media after a decade-long dependency. He explores how platforms that once connected him transformed into sources of toxicity and addiction. Sathnam highlights the decline in social media usage and discusses the emotional toll of online abuse. With a shift towards private messaging, he reflects on the positive aspects of early internet days while ultimately championing real-life interactions over toxic online environments.
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Social Media Became A Virtual Office
- Sathnam Sanghera describes how social media became his virtual office, networking tool and source of work and friendship for a decade.
- He recounts live-tweeting, private invites from musicians and daily interruptions to family time due to compulsive posting.
Platform Use Has Peaked And Is Declining
- Time spent on social media peaked in 2022 and declined thereafter, with adults now averaging about two hours and 20 minutes daily in 2024.
- The drop is strongest among teens and people in their twenties, signalling changing habits and platform fatigue.
Cultural Shift Toward Digital Detoxing
- The podcast argues we may be at the 'beginning of the end' of the social media age, evidenced by cultural moves like dopamine detoxes and no-screen days.
- People are realising global, instantaneous communication overloads our capacity for sustained, healthy interaction.