Why Social Networks are failing Cultural Creatives in their need for a better way to make sense with purpose
Introduction
The complexities of today's world demand new ways of understanding the world, yet social media often amplifies simplistic viewpoints that further fragment and polarize communities.
This shallow engagement diminishes our ability to act on critical issues collectively.
Most platforms are built around individualism, sidelining the importance of shared understanding and collective thinking.
Innovation in social spaces has often been about minor adjustments rather than true transformation.
There’s an urgent need for meaningful discussions, led by Cultural Creatives at the forefront of social change, especially for solving wicked problems. People who have a clear purpose, want to make a difference in their ways of doing things and want to be the first in their area of interest.
Cultural Creatives are deeply engaged in understanding and addressing complex, multifaceted global challenges and lead the way to the rest.
Key Take-Aways
Traditional social networks prioritize superficial interactions over deep, meaningful thinking, which hinders constructive dialogue on complex issues.
Algorithms tend to drive polarization. They reinforce echo chambers, reducing diversity of thought and sidelining context-rich debates.
Addressing complex global challenges requires platforms focused on collective sensemaking, systems thinking, and shared understanding.
There's a growing desire for spaces that prioritize human-centric, context-driven content over algorithm-fueled popularity.
Hunome offers a unique platform designed to foster collective intelligence, enabling users to engage in meaningful, purpose-driven conversations for solving wicked problems.
Table of contents
The Pain Points of Current Social Networks
What Cultural Creatives Truly Need
A Call for Transformation in Social Spaces
Introducing Hunome: A New Kind of Social Platform
Benefits of Hunome for Tackling Complex Problems
Conclusion
Cultural Creatives find the current social media formats frustrating as platforms prioritize trending content, limiting the diversity of voices and suppressing ideas that don't generate immediate clicks or engagement.
In recent years, many users of social networks are now turning their backs to these platforms and, are looking for more human-centered alternatives, away from algorithms that limit their build and that can offer more meaningful participation.
It happens that those deeply involved in tackling complex global challenges—like climate change, social justice, and ethical technology, among other thematics —current social network platforms fall short.
They crave a space for thoughtful participation and perspectives-building, but instead, they face environments dominated by superficial content, algorithm-driven feeds, and limited room for nuance.
These individuals, often known as Cultural Creatives, are starting to doubt if the mainstream platforms can truly support meaningful engagement.
They are now searching for alternatives that prioritize depth in the build, impact, and genuine perceptiveness sharing. What some call, the “prosocial media”.
Cultural Creatives and their dissatisfaction with traditional social platforms
Cultural Creatives are a unique audience—consisting of those who are invested in tackling "wicked problems" that span across society, technology, and the environment.
They don’t seek just to consume content but to engage deeply, collaborate, build in community, and contribute to the knowledge pool of complex issues.
For them, the traditional social media experience—focused on vanity metrics, entertainment, and influencer culture—feels shallow and misaligned with their deeper objectives.
They find the current social media formats frustrating as platforms prioritize trending content, limiting the diversity of voices and suppressing ideas that don't generate immediate clicks or engagement.
It’s all about likes, shares, and brief comments that do not equate to deep discussions.
The format favors short-form content over complex ideas.
Existing platforms often create bubbles (echo chambers) that reinforce beliefs rather than challenge them, reducing the opportunity for genuine collective sensemaking.
Also, advertising models reward quantity of engagement rather than quality, leading to environments that foster sensationalism over constructive debate.
This disillusionment drives them to look for more human-aware alternatives, where the focus shifts from individualistic expression to collective understanding, shared insights, and context-driven discourse.
The Need for Collective Sensemaking and Systems Thinking
At the heart of this dissatisfaction lies a growing recognition that addressing complex global challenges requires a shift in how one engages with information.
Cultural Creatives are now aware that they need platforms that go beyond fragmented discussions.
Places where they can use the ability to gather diverse perspectives, connect the dots, and form a shared understanding of complex issues.
The goal is not merely to broadcast ideas but to make sense of them collectively.
They are in search of new approaches that emphasize understanding the interconnections within complex systems, allowing for a more holistic view of problems and their potential solutions, in a more multidimensional and multidisciplinary ecosystem.
Environments where contributions are contextualized, enabling a deeper grasp of the subject and fostering informed dialogue among participants.
These needs contrast sharply with the existing social networks, which emphasize quick consumption over in-depth analysis and shared knowledge-building.
Cultural Creatives need more platforms that can accommodate their drive for substantive discussion and collective exploration.
Theme leaders are shifting toward Human-Centered spaces where to build understanding in multidimensional thinking.
The Limitations of the “One-to-Many” Social Media Model
The traditional "one-to-many" model of social networks—where content is distributed broadly to audiences—is not designed for meaningful engagement.
This model is excellent for viral marketing and entertainment but falls short when it comes to knowledge-sharing or building a deeper understanding on complex topics.
But why’s that?
Because the network platforms all promote simplistic narratives.
Complex problems therefore get reduced to oversimplified narratives that fit into brief posts or soundbites.
Important nuances are often sacrificed to ensure content is accessible or catchy.
Then, of course, the siloed nature of social networks fragments conversations, making it difficult for users to get a comprehensive view of an issue.
Unlike platforms that prioritize meaningful and context-rich interaction, social media often lacks tools to build and maintain a cohesive thread of ideas or debates.
Also, success on traditional platforms is measured by individual popularity—followers, likes, and shares—rather than the value of ideas in a collective context.
For the Cultural Creatives, this creates a dissonance between the potential of social media and reality.
The platforms they engage with lack mechanisms to properly address the intricacies of global challenges, anything from climate change to social justice.
Searching for Alternatives: A Shift Toward Human-Centered Platforms
So, many are now looking for alternatives that emphasize on:
Contextual knowledge sharing: Spaces where knowledge is not scattered in bits and pieces but built systematically with an intention, enabling contributors to create a collective understanding.
Human-centric design: Algorithm-free environments that are designed around human connections, fostering respectful, nuanced dialogue rather than clickbait.
Assisted serendipity: The ability to discover unexpected yet relevant insights, fostering creativity and new ideas without the interference of profit-driven algorithms.
Support in-depth discussions in time and manner: Platforms that accommodate longer content formats and deeper dives into issues, unlike the short posts and comments of traditional networks.
The new wave of platforms aims to cultivate a sense of purpose-driven engagement, allowing users to focus on creating meaningful impact rather than chasing likes or followers.
A space that moves beyond the "one-to-many" model and enables genuine, context-rich conversation and collective problem-solving.
This trend shows a shift from individualistic metrics to collective achievements—shared insights, systemic understanding, and impactful solutions.
Enter Hunome: A Space for Purpose-Driven Collective Intelligence
Hunome is this new space.
A new way of understanding how the world works.
A space that offers a unique human-centric space for collaborative sensemaking.
So here’s how Hunome stands apart:
Collective Sensemaking Environment: Hunome focuses on collective sensemaking, enabling users to connect, explore, and analyze ideas in a shared context.
Its platform encourages participants to engage in deeper thematic discussions, making it an ideal space for tackling complex challenges.Easier decision-making: Rather than focusing on isolated facts or events, Hunome encourages members to explore how various elements of an issue interact.
This holistic view makes it easier to understand multifaceted problems.Algorithm-Free Design: Unlike traditional platforms that use algorithms to curate content, Hunome facilitates human ingenuity to flourish and connect the dots, delivering unusual thought connections to arrive at new thinking.
This fosters an environment where deliberation remains meaningful and constructive.Facilitation of Human Ingenuity: Hunome empowers users to contribute to constructive dialogues by offering elements that highlight diverse perspectives, integrate insights, and foster human ingenuity.
This approach builds a legacy of knowledge and understanding rather than popularity.A Platform for forward-thinking individuals in thematic builds: Hunome appeals to those pioneers who seek to make a difference, providing a space for those driven by purpose rather than self-promotion.
Main differences between Social Media and Hunome
Conclusion: A Call for Purpose-Driven Social Engagement
As the world grapples with increasingly complex problems, Cultural Creatives and other forward-thinking individuals are becoming disillusioned with the limitations of traditional social networks.
They recognize the need for a more meaningful, context-driven space that prioritizes depth over superficiality and collective intelligence over individualism.
Hunome presents itself as a powerful alternative—a space designed for those who are eager to engage in purposeful dialogue, share insights, and contribute to a better understanding of global challenges.
By fostering collective sensemaking, systems thinking, and context-rich interaction, Hunome addresses the very frustrations that traditional platforms have failed to solve.
For anyone seeking to move beyond the noise of mainstream social media, Hunome offers a community built around shared understanding, constructive perspectives, and the collective intelligence needed to tackle the world’s most pressing problems.
Now is the time for a shift to sensemaking together.
SOURCES
The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World
Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson
Digital Resilience. Research report
New report: Exploring a transition to alternative social media platforms for social justice organizations in the Majority World https://www.theengineroom.org/library/new-report-exploring-a-transition-to-alternative-social-media-platforms-for-social-justice-organizations-in-the-majority-world/
Wired. Business
Embrace the shift towards Prosocial Media
https://www.wired.com/story/prosocial-media-social-networks-discourse-decentralization/
33 Square.
Fed Up With Twitter? The 10 Best Alternative Social Networks to Try in 2024
https://www.33rdsquare.com/best-twitter-alternative/
Cornell University
Re-Ranking News Comments by Constructiveness and Curiosity Significantly Increases Perceived Respect, Trustworthiness, and Interest
https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.05429
