Why are online forums becoming less popular

[Dominique]

About 10-15 years ago, online forums were very popular, people used to join forums and participate on the discussions on variety of topics. But these days we don't see a lot active forums. What do you think forums are becoming less popular?

 

[Nomad]

These days people are more interested in broadcasting content or consuming broadcasted content. Forums lack this feature.

 

[koyala]

I don't have a lot of experience with online forums, I I don't think forums are becoming less populars. Reddit is one if the most popular discussion platforms on the Internet. It might not be as popular as Facebook but it is certainly popular. If you mean a forum like this one becoming less popular, I think the preferences have changed and people want to build online communities in social platforms rather than a self hosted community

 

[dojo]

It's a pretty crazy rollercoaster.

Up until 2024 forums have lost a lot of ground to Facebook and other social media platforms. This is true. With the new tweaks in the Google algorithm and mainly because they are training Gemini on Reddit's huge content database, we now see a revival of forums.

For me, forums are always a good option, as we can easily search and organize content, plus the community feeling you can foster is unmatched.

 

[Nomad]

User generated content have a lot of value, therefore forums will continue to survive. Well, social media have certainly excelled but they are not the platform for meaningful discussion, they are more into broadcasting content, we don't see a good text based content too frequently on social media.