You may be seeing more content on social media nowadays, but how much of it are you actually engaging with? Between new group and friend suggestions, suggested content and ads, you may be seeing less of what you love.
Buffer, a social media management platform, recently released a new data study, The State of Social Media Engagement in 2026. Buffer analyzed 52 million posts and over 191,000 monthly users and found that engagement on some of the most popular social media platforms declined last year.
Engagement rates on Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads declined last year compared with 2024, while Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok increased slightly. Only X posts saw significantly more engagement compared with last year. Buffer measured engagement as likes, replies and shares.
Why are certain platforms seeing a dip in engagement?
In 2025, there were more social media posts but less engagement. Posts doubled, even tripled, across most platforms, according to Buffer. Yet, half of the analyzed social media platforms saw a decline in user interaction last year compared with 2024. Buffer says algorithm updates, feature launches and user experience redesigns could be a few reasons. Engagement can also depend on who posts what and when.
But there are other factors worth considering.
Suggested content overload
Suggested content and ads don’t always align with our interests. And it seems like nowadays, we’re being fed more content that we may not be interested in. You might see more ads and reels from unfamiliar creators, making it harder to catch a family announcement or your friend’s vacation highlights.
AI-generated content increasingly floods our timelines, reducing human connections. After scrolling for so long, you may leave the app without engaging with the content you actually want to see.
Read more: Half of US Adults Who Use Social Media Want Better Labels on AI Posts, Finds
Algorithm changes
Social media platforms frequently change their algorithms beyond our control. Those changes impact the content you may see.
The European Commission has formally charged TikTok with breaching EU online content rules due to its addictive design. And Facebook’s algorithm change last year was designed to show you reels you’ll like, even if they’re AI-generated. Those changes can lead you to engage less with the content you want.
Different content types
The type of content you see on each platform may be more or less engaging to you.
For example, Buffer found that carousels get more engagement on LinkedIn compared to videos and photos, whereas Reels are more popular on Instagram than carousels. And that’s no surprise, considering Instagram’s big push for Reels, including its availability on Fire TV.
How to personalize your social media algorithm
We no longer have the same control over our social media feeds that we did with MySpace profiles in the early 2000s. However, you can adjust your settings to see more of the content that interests you.
Social media platforms, like Instagram, have features to help minimize the noise you see online. For instance, you can hide content you see from people you follow. And when you come across ads, you can select “Not Interested” for Instagram to improve the ads you see. Although that may not change how much you engage, you may see more content you like.
