The essential 'conflict' here is that of a "third place" (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place - you also might know it from Sonys marketing a few years ago -
), and the increasing notion that - structurally - many companies would rather market themselves as such, but follow a different conceptual model. (a-social media sites, ...)
The third place essentially is a an idealistic concept, where people choose to congregate, because they feel like belonging, and simply 'good' when they do. (Think the cafe in the 90s sitcom Friends.
) Its a place of discussion, where they are among equals, where they can voice opinions, and yes - where they tend to help each other.
That conceptual model of an important societal place was taken by marketing in the 80s, and implemented for brands like Starbucks or Apple, who now offer a different version of that to brand loyal customers. Its all about the flair of actual community building - with none of the actual community.
And here is the main point. When 'helping others out' whos main barrier of entry was 'owning a smartphone' and nothing else really (well, maybe also buying a certain product - or "thinking of buying" - in which case they ought to be pampered especially well), and this is seen as a very positive thing (because we are talking about ad economies), becomes the main purpose of a "community" - and is universally accepted as the main reason, for why people attend, and the main purpose thats expected of it ('You haven't even been very helpful, at all...') the purpose changed from "third place" to "business venture".
Lets put it that way. If peoples role in here has become 'non payed helpers of others' and not a meeting or gathering place of likeminded folks, enjoyment amongst the 'expected unpaid helpers' will plummet. It simply looses the function of said 'third place'. Which is first and foremost a social function, not an economic one. No one visits this forum, because in here they get to work for others.
If your 'social networking platform' starts to feel, like it is mostly economically motivated ('that networker from highschool tried to connect with for the third time...'), the interesting people tend to move away, because for them it has lost the social function it has delivered to them.
That said, most people often dont notice, because they might be attending for the notoriaty, or because they want a question answered, or simply - because they think that their posting scores are what matters most (hierarchy). It still might be the place, where developers announce products, but to talk to peers most of them have resorted to far more controlled channels (discords, ...).
From my perspective - it has become hard, to even follow the scene, because regardless of subforum, there is a constant barrage of 'I have a quick question', highjack attempts or threads, with constantly the same questions, and simply trying to ignore them becomes harder and harder, because the quality of answers has gotten lower and lower.
Thats where the conflict comes in.
In an actual 'third place' this is an issue, because its a dysfunctional culture.
In a 'mockup third place' where moderators may only drop by once in a while, because something got flagged which is seen 'offensive', the intended goal is mass satisfaction - and if people want their service requests filled - this becomes the new primary goal the structure gets targeted around. Again, ad economies.
Now, with facebook and other social media platforms always having intentionally blurred the difference between a friend and a "brand worker", peoples expectations about who's responsible for "service" also have altered, so have their notions of what constitutes a "friend" ('I prime subbed my favorite twit streamer today! He mentioned my name and was so greatful.').
But then the notion was always to capture that concept of a "third place", so you cant really blame them.
Just dont conflate the two.
If something is a genuine community, we have the responsibility to talk about aspects that are going wrong within it.
If something is just a trendy front for people with smartphones to get 'help services', expect everyone to judge you on your 'helpfulness to others' as a first reaction.
The difference between mock communities and actual ones is stark. And yet most people still tend to overlook it. Its part of acting PC, I suppose.. (Also brand loyal individuals, really love their brands - its an identity thing..
)
