Social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongst virtual communities and networks.
Popular social media platforms with over 100 million registered users include Twitter, Facebook, WeChat, ShareChat, Instagram, Pinterest, QZone, Weibo, VK, Tumblr, Baidu Tieba, Threads and LinkedIn.
Depending on interpretation, other popular platforms that are sometimes referred to as social media services include YouTube, Letterboxd, QQ, Quora, Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, LINE, Snapchat, Viber, Reddit, Discord, and TikTok.
Major news outlets often have strong controls in place to avoid and fix false claims, but social media's unique qualities bring viral content with little to no oversight.
"Algorithms that track user engagement to prioritize what is shown tend to favor content that spurs negative emotions like anger and outrage.
It offered early forms of social media features with innovations such as Notes, PLATO's message-forum application; TERM-talk, its instant-messaging feature; Talkomatic, perhaps the first online chat room; News Report, a crowdsourced online newspaper, and blog and Access Lists, enabling the owner of a note file or other application to limit access to a certain set of users, for example, only friends, classmates, or co-workers.
ARPANET, which came online in 1969, had by the late 1970s enabled exchange of non-government/business ideas and communication, as evidenced by the network etiquette (or "netiquette") described in a 1982 handbook on computing at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
[19] While instant messaging and chat clients existed at the time, SixDegrees was unique as it was the first online service designed for people to connect using their actual names instead of anonymously.
[79] U.S. Customs and Border Protection (also known as CPB) and the United States Department of Homeland Security use social media data as influencing factors during the visa process, and monitor individuals after they have entered the country.
[82] Many businesses use social media for marketing, branding,[83] advertising, communication, sales promotions, informal employee-learning/organizational development, competitive analysis, recruiting, relationship management/loyalty programs,[28] and e-Commerce.
In 2013, the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) began advising celebrities to make it clear whether they had been paid to recommend a product or service by using the hashtag #spon or #ad when endorsing.
States including Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin protect applicants and employees from surrendering usernames and passwords for social media accounts.
"One survey in July 2017, by the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, reported that 11 percent of respondents said they had refused to admit an applicant based on social media content.
Their lawsuit describes "a sophisticated and intentional effort that has caused a continuing, substantial, and longterm burden to the Tribe and its members," leaving scarce resources for education, cultural preservation and other social programs.
[149] In social media "stalking" or "creeping" refers to looking at someone's "timeline, status updates, tweets, and online bios" to find information about them and their activities.
[165] While monitoring the lives of celebrities long predates social media, the ease and immediacy of direct comparisons of pictures and stories with one's own may increase their impact.
[172] The role of parents and caregivers who proactively approach their children with ongoing guidance and open discussions on the benefits and difficulties they may encounter online, demonstrate some reductions in overall anxiety and depression among adolescents.
[195] Access to social media offered a way to keep older adults connected, after the deaths of partners and geographical distance between friends and loved ones.
[214] In 2017, Facebook gave its new emoji reactions five times the weight in its algorithms as its like button, which data scientists at the company in 2019 confirmed had disproportionately boosted toxicity, misinformation and low-quality news.
[237] Presented by Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland, the bill was created as an attempt at reducing social media harms for young people and responding to the concerns of parents.
According to Patrick Breyer from the German Pirate Party, a problem could arise from the Hungarian government requesting a video to be deleted that is critical of Victor Orban, as he foresaw the potential for such determinations to be applied EU-wide.
[257] An earlier version of the then-bill required Philippines-based users to register their social media accounts using their legal names and phone numbers, with the supporters claiming the measure would deter fraudulent and terrorist activities that use anonymity.
[257] In June 2024, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for social media platforms to contain a warning about the impact they have on the mental health of young people.
[264][265] In 2007 Andrew Keen wrote, "Out of this anarchy, it suddenly became clear that what was governing the infinite monkeys now inputting away on the Internet was the law of digital Darwinism, the survival of the loudest and most opinionated.
[287] In 2019 the Pentagon issued guidance to the military, Coast Guard and other government agencies that identified "the potential risk associated with using the TikTok app and directs appropriate action for employees to take in order to safeguard their personal information.
Young people are at particular risk of developing internet addiction disorder,[292] with case studies highlighting students whose academic performance declines as they spend more time online.
[308] A study of Americans aged 12–15, reported that teenagers who used social media over three hours/day doubled their risk of negative mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety.
A number of commentators and experts have argued that social media companies have incentives that to maximize user engagement with sensational, emotive and controversial material that discourages a healthy discourse that democracies depend on.
[197] Andrew Leonard describes Pol.is as one possible solution to the divisiveness of traditional discourse on social media that has damaged democracies, citing the use of its algorithm to instead prioritize finding consensus.
[345] In most cases on social media, the platforms require a next-of-kin to prove that the user is deceased, and give them the option of closing the account or maintaining it in a 'legacy' status.
