Social Media

Social Media encompasses a variety of platforms for people to share photos, updates, and information regarding their personal lives onto the internet. Social Media provides internet users an insight into one’s personal life, as each profile includes avatars, identity, and depending on the user’s privacy settings, little anonymity. Social networking is becoming increasingly popular among people with access to the internet.

Platforms
There are thousands of Social Media platforms currently in use, each with it’s own unique characteristics. An example would be how Snapchat is a platform meant for exchanging pictures, while Twitter is used to upload statuses or “tweets” to a live feed. While there are many different platforms, only a small percentage reach the levels of popularity and success as the top media networking sites right now. According to a study done in February 2018, the most popular social media websites are Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit.

Business and Marketing
Social media is increasingly becoming a place where businesses can interact with consumers. In many ways, social media has become a new form of customer service where consumers can receive quick answers from a business. According to Facebook, There are now more than 50 million small businesses using Facebook Pages to connect with their customers.

Besides that, social media platforms have become the most prominent figure for advertising and marketing. Another study showed that 95% of adults between the ages 18-35 are likely to follow a brand that they enjoy on social media. There are also websites such as Linkedin which is popular for networking to create connections for potential workers and businesses. Social Media has proven to be an important link between companies, workers, and consumers alike.

Popularity and Future
As technology such as smartphones and the internet become more available worldwide with each year, social media becomes more common globally. According to the 2018 Global Digital Report, the number of social media users worldwide in 2018 is 3.196 billion, up 13 percent year-on-year. Facebook alone has around 2.167 billion users globally, and has increased with over 500 million users in the past two years. Along with that, 81 percent of U.S. Americans having a social media account as of 2017, and is expected to have 2.5 billion individual users by the end of 2018. Social media isn’t simply a phase, and it’s increasing popularity is proof that it will play a big role in the future.