Can I say something?

That something is nothing, but we wanted to start this article by resorting to the tactic that articulates the trend that is currently running through social networks, especially This is “vagueposting”.

The trend is not new, but it has taken shape in recent months by attributing to it, as is usual, an Anglo-Saxon term. The practice has existed since the birth of social networks, or even since human interactions. It was previously identified as “vaguebooking” and referred to the publication of emotional and enigmatic statuses on Facebook that sought to arouse curiosity and attract the attention of other users, such as publishing “the worst day of my life” without giving more details.

However, the trend has resurfaced in recent weeks, with the networks filling up with expressions like the one that heads this text, or others like “girls…”, “what? WHAT?”. Most of them are publications that involve some multimedia content, which pushes other users to play the video or enlarge the image to learn more about what is being referenced.

Users have noticed the increase in this type of publications and have expressed their discontent on social networks. “We’re in a vagueposting pandemic” or “I’ve survived many eras on this damn app, but vagueposting may be what finally gets me away from here.”
Many are frustrated that a huge amount of posts on the platform don’t really mean anything, lacking context and information.

While part of the trend can be found in the fact that users have grown tired of explaining everything to everyone, the main reason for its sudden popularity is the algorithm that governs the social network. Imprecise texts invite you to click on the posts, explore other users’ comments, or even ask questions about them to obtain more information, which is why they generate engagement and benefit from the algorithm to the detriment of those who do explain enough to read them without clicking on them.

In this way, X feeds back the activity on its own platform. The comments section will attract crowds of users asking for clues, or invoking Grok for context or an AI-generated explanation. However, users have also learned to identify “vagueposting” and also reflect it in the responses through comments or memes.

The practice does not only occur on X, but also on other social networks and platforms. For example, it is also common to find ambiguous content on YouTube under large titles or manipulated video thumbnails that promise impressive content, and then turn out not to be impressive. Applied to the media, “vagueposting” could be considered homologous to “clickbait.”

The trend has even embraced self-reference and become a parody, with users sharing other “vagueposting” posts with ambiguous comments or creating specific content about the practice and its implications.

Vagueposting, with its half-formed thoughts, clips stripped of necessary context, and baits designed to provoke participation, has become a new lever to try to activate users’ increasingly reduced attention span. However, added to the increasing amount of junk content generated by artificial intelligence, it is worth asking about the usefulness and relevance of content on digital platforms.