Songs about social media: 12 tracks about scrolling, likes and comparison
Twelve songs about social media and life online, from Olivia Rodrigo and Bo Burnham to MGMT, Gorillaz and Brighton grunge.
Panacea
11/7/20262 min read
Songs about social media have become their own genre. As phones took over everyday life, songwriters started writing about the comparison, the need for likes, the doomscrolling and the strange loneliness of being connected all the time. Here are 12 songs about social media and life online, from huge pop hits to grunge.
Pop and alternative songs about social media
1. Olivia Rodrigo, jealousy, jealousy (2021)
The definitive song about comparing yourself to people online. Rodrigo describes scrolling through other people's perfect lives and feeling smaller with every post.
2. Bo Burnham, Welcome to the Internet (2021)
From Burnham's lockdown special Inside, a manic, theatrical tour of everything the internet offers, which gets darker the longer it goes on.
3. The 1975, Love It If We Made It (2018)
A breathless list of modern chaos, much of it lived through screens and news feeds. One of the defining songs about being online in the late 2010s.
4. MGMT, TSLAMP (2018)
The title stands for Time Spent Looking At My Phone, and the song is exactly that: a hazy confession about phone addiction.
5. Gorillaz, The Tired Influencer (2020)
The loneliness and pressure behind keeping up a perfect online persona.
6. Madison Beer, Dear Society (2019)
A song about how social media pushes impossible standards and what that does to self-esteem.
7. Bastille featuring Graham Coxon, WHAT YOU GONNA DO??? (2020)
About the pull of the feed and how hard it is to switch off.
8. Pet Shop Boys, On Social Media (2019)
A dry, witty look at anonymous opinions and online arguments.
Grunge songs about social media
Grunge was always about alienation, so it fits social media anxiety naturally. These four are from Panacea's debut album, Remedies for nothing.
9. Panacea, Scroll damage
About what endless scrolling does to your head: an hour lost, every highlight reel compared with your own life, and feeling worse at the end. Read the meaning of Scroll damage.
10. Panacea, Ghost read
The particular anxiety of a message seen but never answered. Read the meaning of Ghost read.
11. Panacea, Temporary fix
Swiping right for validation from a stranger, online shopping at 2am: the apps we use to avoid feeling anything. Read the meaning of Temporary fix.
12. Panacea, I will live how I died (in my head)
The gap between the person you are and the person you perform, online and off. Read the meaning.
Why so many songs are about social media now
Most people now spend hours a day on their phones, and songwriters write about what fills their lives. The best songs about social media don't preach. They describe the feeling honestly: the comparison, the quiet envy, the hit of a notification and the flatness after. That honesty is also why grunge's loud-quiet sound suits the subject so well.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good song about social media?
Olivia Rodrigo's jealousy, jealousy is the best known. For something louder, try Panacea's Scroll damage.
Are there songs about doomscrolling?
Yes. MGMT's TSLAMP is about time lost on your phone, and Panacea's Scroll damage is about the crash after a long scroll.
What songs are about comparing yourself to others online?
Olivia Rodrigo's jealousy, jealousy and Madison Beer's Dear Society both deal with comparison and self-esteem.
Keep listening
Explore songs about anxiety, or stream Remedies for nothing.
Contact
Get in touch about merch, press, playlists and collaborations, or just to chat
info@panaceamusic.website
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