As people grow tired of toxic and addictive platforms that undermine real social connection, this new wave of social-focused upstarts could end up producing a healthier online environment.

Major platforms such as Facebook have long abandoned their goal to "bring the world closer together" in favor of "profit-motivated and engagement-inducing designs" that keep us hooked and drive growth, Ben Grosser, an artist and faculty associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, told me.

No matter how fun group chats and breakout social apps such as BeReal are, I've missed the borderless experience that large platforms offer — a place where I can discover viral content, expand my network, and participate in global conversations.

At its best, Steve Teixeira, the chief product officer at Mozilla, said that social media facilitated connection, regardless of geographic or temporal boundaries, and helps people stay informed, encounter novel ideas, and access vital services.

And experts have found that a collection of networks would "optimize itself solely for public good," rather than fall into the pitfalls of traditional platforms — an unhealthy obsession with metrics and meaningless interactions.

It's hard to predict the future, least of all when it comes to online services where new apps can go viral — and then fail — in a flash, but the breakup of monolithic social-media platforms and the rise of myriad new social experiences has felt like an urgent, long-overdue turn of events.

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