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. Common features include: Online platforms that enable users to create and share content and participate in social networking. User-generated content—such as text posts or comments, digital photos or videos, and data generated through online interactions. Service-specific profiles that are designed and maintained by the social media organization. Social media helps the development of online social networks by connecting a user's profile with those of other individuals or groups. The term social in regard to media suggests platforms enable communal activity. Social media can enhance and extend human networks. Users access social media through web-based apps or custom apps on mobile devices. These interactive platforms allow individuals, communities, and organizations to share, co-create, discuss, participate in, and modify user-generated or self-curated content. Social media is used to document memories, learn, and form friendships. They may be used to promote people, companies, products, and ideas. Social media can be used to consume, publish, or share news. 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, Pinterest, Viber, Reddit, Discord, TikTok, and Microsoft Teams. Wikis are examples of collaborative content creation. Social media outlets differ from old media (e.g. newspapers, TV, and radio broadcasting) in many ways, including quality, reach, frequency, usability, relevancy, and permanence. Social media outlets operate in a dialogic transmission system (many sources to many receivers) while traditional media operate under a monologic transmission model (one source to many receivers). For instance, a newspaper is delivered to many subscribers, and a radio station broadcasts the same programs to a city. Social media has been criticized for a range of negative impacts on children and teenagers, including exposure to inappropriate content, exploitation by adults, sleep problems, attention problems, feelings of exclusion, and various mental health maladies. Social media has also received criticism as worsening political polarization and undermining democracy. Other than teens, social media can also affect adults' livelihoods. Unfortunately, many people spend too much time on these apps that they do not accomplish their daily tasks or even start their careers. Some believe that since others on social media are making money, they can also rely on it for income. This is not healthy or likely for everyone; if it doesn’t work out, their mental health can suffer as they face potential homelessness and find life meaningless. For some, this is the main reason they no longer want to live. While social media has its positive aspects—such as people being able to earn money it shouldn’t be their only source of income. Others find connections that last a lifetime through online dating, with some actually meeting and getting married through social media apps. However, for those already struggling with mental health issues, social media can exacerbate their problems. Nowadays, when people feel sad or depressed, they may avoid going for a walk, picking up a book, or interacting with others. Instead, they often scroll through these apps day and night, leading to physical health issues as well, while their mental state deteriorates. If a person is suffering from unemployment or a lack of purpose, especially after working hard for it, seeing others on social media with everything they desire can make things worse. They might continuously compare themselves to those individuals, who may not even be living the lives they appear to be.