Slapp-ing The Pain Away

A new social media has entered the arena

Social media is awful. From data peddling to misinformation, platforms have been shown to increase polarisation in the world of today. By prioritising, even rewarding, extreme content and creating disparate echo chambers via powerful algorithms, social media truly is awful.

On a positive note, there has been a shift in how people use and approach social media in recent years. Whether it’s the “analogue trend” of 2026, complete abstinence from social media, or “bricking” your phone, the general mood seems to be moving towards increased opposition, possibly spurred by app fatigue and digital lethargy.

“The advertisements, the AI content, the fake accounts — we’re seeing explosive amounts of these types of content on these platforms.”

Some, however, don’t oppose the concept of social media, pointing to its uses for connecting people across distances. In early 2026, news broke that two young software engineers were doing exactly that. Slapp, a new, Iceland-only social media app, set out to unite the nation on a single platform.

“We always had this idea on the backburner,” Kristján Leó Guðmundsson explains, co-founder of the venture with Bjarki Sigurjónsson Thorarensen. “I think it was last summer when we had the idea of creating a sports social media. There wasn’t a lot of interest, so we put that aside and started experimenting.”

Bjarki continues the origin story. “We had sensed a general feeling among people that they were tired of social media and the ads. It wasn’t until November, where I saw a Facebook post asking whether a platform like [Slapp] existed,” he says from his student housing in Sweden. “I began working on the side, throwing up a prototype which only featured a digital ID log-in and a wall you could post on.”

Therein lies Slapp’s genius. By limiting users to a government-issued digital ID, Slapp circumvents the contemporary problem faced by other platforms riddled with fake profiles and malicious bots. On the other hand, it limits its user base to a small North Atlantic island.

Local social media

Creating a new social media platform is a subversive action. That is, by rolling one out, you acknowledge that somewhere, something is broken within the code of other platforms. Bjarki begs to differ.

“The question isn’t, ‘What wasn’t working?’ But more, ‘How are they working?’ The advertisements, the AI content, the fake accounts — we’re seeing explosive amounts of these types of content on these platforms. Especially the ads, which are just a bit too targeted, especially on Instagram,” he laments.

Kristján dubs it a “local social media” (locial media, anyone?). “You’re connecting with people, friends and family, who are in a similar location as you. These people are in Iceland. It’s also clearly valuable for the language — you’re reading posts in Icelandic. I think that’s a big component. It’s like how social media used to work before.”

So, how does Slapp work? At its most basic level, it’s an infinite scroll feed comprising text, photos and videos. The twist is, you see every users’ full name and birth year, if they make it visible.

Friend requests can be sent, but the feed can be tailored to receive updates by filtering “everyone”, “for you”, “popular posts”, and “friends”. A nifty feature allows you to toggle whether you’re “partying” — therefore openly admitting to your friends that you have a binge-drinking problem.

Since its rollout, Slapp has become slightly cumbersome, with features being added that encapsulate the fact that this was made by two dudes in their 20s, most notably a dating option.

Desperate measures

Slapp comes at an interesting time where countries worldwide are either considering, or have already placed, limitations on social media. In December 2025, Australia was the first to enact landmark legislation, banning children 16 years and younger from accessing social media.

Conversely, Slapp’s digital ID barrier allows children 13 years old and up to use the platform, given the ID’s proprietary age restrictions. According to the founders, age restrictions did not enter their start-up discussions.

“We will comply with all the legal requirements,” Bjarki puts it plainly. “It’s easy, very easy — easier on Slapp than other platforms — to enforce an age requirement. If the state would suddenly ban social media for children, we could implement that in a single day. As it stands, you can’t access Slapp without a digital ID. So that’s the age limit now.”

By sticking to an infinite feed, Slapp, like other platforms, creates a frictionless interaction between the user and browser, which may lead to compulsive browsing. For the founders, that’s not a point of contention affecting hollow spikes of dopamine.

“I think the main factor affecting the dopamine spike are the likes and notifications,” Kristján ruminates. “When you leave [social media], you’re unhappy. But we want people to feel good on and off the platform,” he continues. “I think, if you’re seeing more content from friends and family, you’re more likely to have your needs fulfilled. It gives you more fulfillment than seeing a random video of a person falling somewhere,” he philosophises.

“What I’m getting out of [Slapp], and what I think plays into this social media addiction, is a limited need to be comparing myself to other people in the world,” Bjarki contrasts. “[Slapp] doesn’t allow the same comparison with seven billion people each day which leads to unhappiness and that dopamine spike.”

World peace

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. While Slapp presents itself as a positive, more down-to-earth, force than its parallel platforms, only time can demonstrate its usefulness. But its founders have lofty ideals.

“One of our goals is to unify society,” Kristján states. “There’s a lot of fragmentation among people on other platforms, I think. The sentiment I get from people is that we’re all friends here. That’s also a factor playing into the experience on and off the platform. Maybe you leave with a sense of purpose.”

And data collection is off the table. “These big platforms, they’re exchanging data between each other. We won’t be buying data from Instagram with the purpose of supplying you with a better feed,” Bjarki iterates.

Having provided the work pro bono for months, Slapp has now moved to a LinkedIn-style monetisation scheme with Slapp+. The premium version allows users to see profile views, post statistics, visibility of promising suitors on Slapp Date, and other marginally useful options.

Scrolling through Slapp’s infinite feed, you get a sense that the majority of its demographic skew young — even Gen Alpha — creating the possibility of a generation growing up totally reliant on Slapp for socialisation. However, whether the dominant culture of the platform turns constructive or destructive is entirely up for grabs.