Is text-based social media fundamentally broken by bots?

We’ve all seen it on Instagram lately—the top comments are 90% bots or "Who's watching in 2026?" spam. It’s becoming impossible to tell if you’re interacting with a human or a script.

I’ve been theorizing that the biggest drawback of current platforms is the anonymity of text. It allows for fake engagement and a total loss of human expression.

I've been building a prototype that actually removes text entirely. Every "reply" has to be a short video of a real face—no GIFs, no memes, no keyboard hiding. The idea is to use a 2D spatial grid (swiping vertically for topics, horizontally for video threads) to force authenticity. If you have to show your face and use your voice, the bot problem technically disappears.

I’m curious for the social media strategists here: Do you think users are actually ready to trade the comfort of anonymous text for the vulnerability of video-only replies? Or are we too addicted to hiding behind keyboards now?

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Junkstar•3 months ago•1

I think this is an interesting idea that younger gens would find appealing. You’re on to something.

moonhippie•3 months ago•1

This would push me off social media for good.

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