Which apps will survive 2023? Experts predict the downfall of BeReal and Twitter trends now
This year has been a big one for social media apps, with Elon Musk taking over Twitter, and many deciding to show their true selves on BeReal.
But as quickly as fads can grow, they can also disappear - as has been seen with the relatively short-lived apps Vine and Google+.
Tech experts exclusively reveal to MailOnline which apps they think are going to survive 2023, and which won't.
The rise of abusive language and resurrection of banned accounts on Twitter could see it being abandoned all together in favour of rivals like Mastodon.
Tech experts exclusively reveal to MailOnline which apps they think are going to survive 2023, and which won't
However, the runaway success of TikTok is unlikely to change unless it is banned as a result of security concerns.
Dr Laura Toogood, a social informatics expert with a PhD in social informatics from University College Dublin, told MailOnline: 'In terms of maintaining popularity and usability, social media apps are coming under scrutiny from lots of different directions.
'In addition to creating new features and adapting to the requirements of their existing users, while simultaneously appealing to a new audience, they must also counter some of the many serious issues that are arising.'
These include data privacy and protecting children who use the apps.
In October, the world's richest man - Elon Musk - acquired the social network for $44billion (£38bn).
In the week proceeding, searches for 'How to delete Twitter' surged by 500 per cent and thousands decided to join little-known rival site Mastodon.
Dr Toogood thinks that Mr Musk's takeover and the ensuing 'turbulence' may spell the end for the app.
In October, the world's richest man - Elon Musk - acquired the social network for $44billion (£38bn). In the week proceeding, searches for 'How to delete Twitter' surged by 500 per cent and thousands decided to join little-known rival site Mastodon
She told MailOnline: 'Many of Musk's amendments to the platform, as well as his rhetoric, have been met with a negative reaction and it is predicted that the platform will slide down the popularity rankings in 2023.
'The spread of offensive content is one topic that is being blamed for some people switching off, but this is being countered by others with a free speech argument.'
An investigation by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate found the use of racist, homophobic, transphobic, and anti-Semitic slurs soared significantly after Mr Musk took over.
This is despite assurance the platform had reduced hateful activity.
The investigation revealed that, in his first week, the anti-Semitic slur 'k***' and racist terms 'w**' and 's***' - appeared in 2,598, 1,256, and 935 retweets. That's an increase of 23 per cent, 62 per cent, and 77 per cent, respectively, compared to the average for 2022.
According to Bloomberg, Mr Musk fired many contractors who worked on policing the deluge of tweets including misinformation and hate speech under the site's rules.
He has also restored a number of previously suspended accounts, including Donald Trump and Kanye West.
Platformer reported that Twitter is in the process of reinstating around 62,000 banned accounts that each have more than 10,000 followers.
Dr Toogood added: 'While Musk has been stirring up a lot of controversial media coverage for Twitter, he has also ensured that the platform remains a key talking point and there are claims that this alone is leading to it gathering more interest than usual.
'Twitter is one of the most established social media platforms, but the digital landscape changes quickly, and even the most committed users can switch off if a platform fails to satisfy their needs or starts to move in a direction that they don't favour or support.'
In a leaked internal email dated November 9, Mr Musk said there was 'no way to sugarcoat the message' that Twitter 'will not survive' if its business model doesn't change.
'Frankly, the economic picture is dire, especially for a company like ours that is so dependent on advertising in a challenging economic climate,' he said.
'Without significant subscription revenue, there is a good chance Twitter will not survive the upcoming economic downturn.
'The road ahead is arduous and will require intense work to succeed.'
Experts have speculated what the collapse of Twitter could mean for its enormous library of tweets, many of which have historical value.
One claims it could erase 'vast records of recent human history', such as contemporary accounts from the war on Ukraine and the death of Osama bin Laden.
'We're going to lose such a lot of digital history if Twitter goes kaput without warning,' Elise Thomas, an analyst at global think tank the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), told MIT Technology Review.
'[Twitter] actually represents an enormous opportunity for future historians; we've never had the capacity to capture this much data about any previous era in history.'
BeReal
Photo-sharing app BeReal shot to the top of the UK and US app charts in May, quickly becoming a fierce rival of Instagram and Snapchat.
The difference? It had no option for filters.
The app prompts users to take an unfiltered photo every day via the in-app camera, which snaps a selfie and a photo using the rear camera simultaneously.
And rather than letting users endlessly retake their photos to catch their best angle, BeReal gives users just two minutes to get the shot.
