Can Social Media Be More Like Letterboxd?

"Most platforms now require that a thought become a stance, a stance become a brand and a brand become a defensible moral position. The stakes of casual internet posting have inflated for even the passive observer. Thankfully, there is Letterboxd, a platform that allows one to deliver hot takes without needing to justify them. On the surface, the app is simple: a social diary for watching movies. In practice, Letterboxd has become part of a longer cycle of online expression."

"Early internet writing on blogs and personal sites felt, to many, unfiltered and personal. But over time, expression was compressed into curated social media feeds which were optimized for algorithmic safety and monetization. Letterboxd emerged as almost a reversal, a space where people could speak more fully again - or even perfunctory - without resolving or defending their thoughts. Reviews can be unserious, thirsty, contradictory or irreverent."

"What I am instead describing is the fatigue of speaking under constant anticipation of judgement online, the ability to work out one's thoughts without the turbulence of a discourse cycle. This fatigue is not incidental; it is reinforced by monetization models that incentivize argument and outrage. Rage-baiting has become a category of content in and of itself, rewarding spectacle over exchange."

"This exhaustion is part of what produced the dark forest theory of the internet: the idea that public online spaces have become hostile terrain, where visibility invites extraction, misreading or attack. In response, people retreat into private group chats and semi-obscure platforms like Substack or Perfectly Imperfect, where attention is less punitive. The forest went dark because people have learned to hide in order to speak at all."

Online platforms increasingly convert casual thoughts into entrenched stances, brands, and moral positions. Casual posting now carries inflated stakes even for passive observers. Letterboxd functions as a social movie diary that allows hot takes without requiring justification. Letterboxd enables unguarded, perfunctory, or playful reviews that do not demand resolution or defense. Early internet blogs felt unfiltered, but expression compressed into curated feeds optimized for algorithmic safety and monetization. Monetization models incentivize argument and outrage, turning rage-bait into a content category that rewards spectacle over exchange. As a result, people retreat to private spaces and niche platforms where attention is less punitive.

Read at PAPER Magazine