Hey Spotify, Not Everything Needs DMs

If you thought everything having an immersive infinitely scrolling algorithmically curated feed (aka a TikTok mode) was getting annoying, wait until you see what's next.

Real quick, does anybody remember when YouTube added direct messaging? Probably not, because it was sunset a few years after it launched, and the public response was "YouTube had direct messages?" Nobody used these, except some kid in my seminar who's parents didn't let him have Discord.

It feels like everything has direct messages now. It somewhat makes sense for social networking platforms to at least have basic messaging, but slowly everything has been gaining the feature. As if messaging wasn't already annoying enough with the number of platforms^[1], everything has been gaining the feature, in case you just can't wait the 10 seconds it takes to close an app and message your friend. But one of the dumbest ones to come out is Spotify.

Spotify Messages

Spotify announced that they're adding direct messaging to their app. Did anybody ask for this? The whole point is to make it easier to "share content with friends and family," as if that wasn't already easy enough. This makes the least amount of sense for Spotify specifically.

One of the cool things about Spotify is just how integrated it is with everything. Not only is there a Spotify client for almost anything you can think of (even smart fridges and washing machines), but it has chat integrations in just about everything too. Try pasting a Spotify link just about anywhere and usually an embed of some kind will show up:

• Discord:
• Twitter:
• iMessage:
• Instagram Stories:
• And so many more. You get the point.

Yeah, it may be slightly more convenient to send a message in Spotify, but if you're asking someone "Hey, what's that song you were playing?" you're going to ask it over any other messaging platform. Because who wants to have a conversation over Spotify, where you don't even get the luxury of an image feature? I'm shocked they even included reactions.

At the end of the day, this is just another way for your ex to message you, and I can't wait for Spotify to quietly shut down this feature in 2 years.