Social Media Buzz Weekly: Roundup of Social Media Updates
- ClickInsights
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Welcome to Social Media Buzz Weekly, your weekly bulletin of the latest social media updates. With the social media landscape evolving with each passing day, it can be challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments. Well, not anymore, as we have taken it upon ourselves to keep you abreast of every happening in the social media space.
So, without any further ado, let’s look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. TikTok Adds Teen Safety Measures in EU, Outlines Economic Contribution
TikTok has outlined some new age assurance measures that it’s deploying across Europe, as more EU nations consider higher social media age limits.
First off, on teen restrictions, TikTok says that, soon, it will roll out new measures to ensure that young teens are not accessing the app. TikTok says that its updated age detection measures will factor in things like profile information, the videos that users publish, and other on-platform behavior. TikTok has also shared some new insight into the platform’s overall contribution to the EU economy, with TikTok claiming to have driven €31 billion ($US36b) in economic value across the EU in 2025.
2. Instagram Rolls Out Algorithm Control Option to All English-Speaking Users
Instagram has announced that all English-speaking users globally will now be able to access its “Your Algorithm” manual control option, giving you another way to define your Reels experience.
You can access the “Your Algorithm” controls by tapping on the top right slider icon within the Reels feed on IG. From there, you can add and remove topics of interest to your Reels profile, while you can also tap on any interest to see examples of the types of videos that fit into that category. Instagram is also giving people the opportunity to choose three top interests for their Reels feed in 2026.
3. Edits Gets IG Links, Weekly Ideas and New Video Effects Features
Instagram has announced the first update to its separate Edits video editing app of 2026, with new internal linking to other IG accounts, new video effects, storyboard updates, and more.
The main addition of note is Reels and IG links in clips created in Edits, so you can cross-connect to other content in the app. You will now have the option to add a link to a clip within your editing tools, making it easy to provide a reference link to another clip or creator account. Those links will then appear in your upload when you export your clip to IG. Edits will also now be able to prompt you with ideas for your next clip, with custom recommendations based on the Reels that you’ve shared.
4. X Announces $1M Prize for Top Article This Month
As part of its renewed effort to get more creators posting long-form content to the app, X has announced that it will pay out a million dollars to the author of the most popular X article posted during the current payout period, which ends on January 30th.
X says that the winning article must be original, be at least 1,000 words in length, and will be judged primarily on Verified Home Timeline impressions. Also, only U.S. users are eligible and one has to be an X Premium subscriber, because X’s long-form publishing option is only available to paying users, though X did recently expand articles to all X Premium subscribers, not just Premium+ customers.
5. X Bans InfoFi Projects From Mass Posting
In a new announcement, X’s head of product Nikita Bier has said that X will be cutting off all apps that offer posting incentives, pointing specifically to the information finance (infoFi) community.
Within some of these projects, which are linked to the crypto community, rewards are offered in order to get more people posting about a project to the X crypto community. Group members can earn tokens and perks for amplifying project messages, which X claims has resulted in a heap of spam being posted to the app.
6. Threads Overtakes X in Daily Mobile Users as Usage Trends Diverge
Threads has overtaken Elon Musk’s X in daily active users on mobile devices, according to new data from market intelligence firm Similarweb, signalling a shift in how users are engaging with the two social platforms.
Similarweb data shows that Threads recorded 141.5 million daily active users across iOS and Android as of January 7, 2026, following months of steady growth. By comparison, X had 125 million daily active users on mobile over the same period. While X continues to outperform Threads on the web, the Threads mobile app has seen a sustained rise in daily usage over recent months.
7. LinkedIn Chief Announces Book on AI Job Search Impacts
CEO Ryan Roslansky is writing a new book that looks at how AI will change job search and career development, and how you can align with this shift.
Roslansky has teamed up with LinkedIn’s LinkedIn Chief Economic Opportunity Officer Aneesh Raman to produce a new, 288-page overview of how AI will open new doors for those seeking the next steps in their career, no matter what that career may be. Roslansky says that the book aims to clear away the noise and help you see what’s changing and why.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next week with more news and updates for you from the social media world. Till then, stay tuned!
If you want to read more on the latest developments taking place in the social media space, take a look at ClickInsights’ Social Media Buzz, wherein we bring to you monthly reports on everything going on in social media, ranging from platform updates to policy changes that influence the way we market.
It’s helpful to stay in the loop on social media updates like TikTok’s EU safety measures and Threads’ user growth, especially for marketers—though if you’re juggling industry news with personal finances, a Student Loan Calculator can take some stress out of managing repayment plans while you focus on these trends.