A new wave of social media apps provide hope in a doomscrolling world | TechCrunch

As mainstream social platforms face growing user disillusionment, a new generation of interest-focused applications is emerging to reclaim the joy of online connection. This shift represents a fundamental rethinking of what social media should be—moving away from broadcast-style content toward participatory communities where depth matters more than breadth.

According to recent analysis from industry experts tracking the niche social platform phenomenon, users are increasingly abandoning generalized networks in favor of spaces tailored to specific interests and identities. This trend mirrors developments in other technology sectors, including innovative cooling solutions for high-performance computing that enable more specialized applications.

The Participation Revolution

Natalie Dillon, consumer investor at venture firm Maveron, observes that consumer behavior is driving a seismic shift “from performance to participation.” She explains that for younger generations, “community isn’t a feature layered on top of a product. It is the product.”

This philosophy manifests in apps like Beli for restaurant sharing, Fizz for college connections, Co–Star for astrology bonding, and Partiful for event planning. Unlike traditional social networks that prioritize reach and engagement metrics, these platforms focus on creating meaningful interactions within defined contexts.

Reclaiming Online Joy

Zehra Naqvi, founder of the recently launched fandom platform Lore, recalls the early social internet’s magic—when Instagram featured Valencia-filtered lattes and Twitter served as a cultural watercooler. “The platforms that won were the ones that kept people scrolling the longest, not the ones that made them feel the most connected,” Naqvi told TechCrunch. “Now there is an abundance of content but a scarcity of joy.”

Her solution: a search engine that helps users explore fan theories, cultural context, and easter eggs through personalized graphs and monthly obsession reports. “One of our early testers said it best: ‘It’s like Wikipedia—but if Wikipedia knew exactly what I was thinking,’” she shared.

Specialized Communities Flourish

The movement toward niche platforms extends across various demographics and interests. Alphonzo Terrell’s Spill became a refuge for Black users leaving X amid rising extremism. The platform redesigned its approach from content feeding to community matching, incorporating games like Spades and hosting co-viewing “Tea Parties” with streaming partners.

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“The next era of social media isn’t about the biggest follower counts,” Terrell emphasized. “It’s about depth; helping people find their people.”

Similarly, Blacksky founder Rudy Fraser is building an open-sourced network with algorithms that filter racial harassment and give users unprecedented control over their timelines. “Sometimes you need a global stage. Sometimes you just want a cozy corner with close internet friends where you can control who sees what,” Fraser explained.

AI-Powered Personalization

Artificial intelligence is accelerating this trend toward hyper-specialized social experiences. Austin Clements of Slauson & Co. notes that founders are using AI to build applications that understand nuance so precisely they transcend niche networks into fully tailored experiences.

“The newer apps are natively built for the niche itself, enabling them to create the tools and features most relevant to that niche,” Clements said. This approach to specialized platform development shares conceptual ground with scientific breakthroughs requiring highly specialized detection methodologies.

Gaming and Interactive Futures

The gaming sector illustrates how niche passion communities are evolving. Dani Tran of BITKRAFT Ventures points to studios like Superbloom that target underrepresented audiences as examples of this trend. “Looking ahead, the most vibrant social communities will be those built around interactive experiences,” Tran predicted.

This interactive focus extends to how platforms are integrating advanced technologies, much like conversational data analytics systems that transform user interactions into actionable insights.

The Multiplayer Social Environment

Maveron’s Dillon envisions the next wave of successful platforms as those that “combine intimacy, utility, and creativity in one ecosystem.” She predicts these won’t resemble traditional social networks but will “feel like multiplayer environments where people can build, buy, and belong all at once.”

As Emily Herrera, formerly of Slow Ventures, observes, creators are increasingly taking ownership roles in this new ecosystem—building environments rather than just participating in them. This represents a fundamental power shift from platform-controlled spaces to creator-led communities.

For users like Naqvi’s early testers—who affectionately call her “Mother Lore”—these emerging platforms offer something precious: tools that “help them remember why being online was fun in the first place.” In an era of doomscrolling and performative content, that rediscovery of digital joy may be the most valuable feature of all.