Social Media: Definition, Effects, and List of Top Apps

Social media is a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and ... TableofContents Expand TableofContents WhatIsSocialMedia? UnderstandingSocialMedia Types BenefitsofSocialMedia ExamplesofSocialMedia TheTop10SocialMediaApps WhatIstheUseofSocialMedia? The6TypesofSocialMedia TheMostPopularSocialMedia? WhatIsSocialMediaMarketing? TheBottomLine Business SmallBusiness Investopedia/JulieBang WhatIsSocialMedia? Thetermsocialmediareferstoacomputer-basedtechnologythatfacilitatesthesharingofideas,thoughts,andinformation throughvirtualnetworksandcommunities.Socialmediaisinternet-basedandgivesusersquickelectroniccommunicationofcontent,suchaspersonalinformation,documents,videos,andphotos.Usersengagewithsocialmediaviaacomputer,tablet,orsmartphoneviaweb-basedsoftwareorapplications.WhilesocialmediaisubiquitousinAmericaandEurope,AsiancountrieslikeIndonesialeadthelistofsocialmediausage.Morethan4.5billionpeopleusesocialmedia,asofOctober2021. KeyTakeaways Socialmediaisacomputer-basedtechnologythatfacilitatesthesharingofideas,thoughts,andinformation throughthebuildingofvirtualnetworksandcommunities.Therearemorethan4.5billionsocialmediausersaroundtheworld.ThelargestsocialmedianetworksincludeFacebook,Instagram,Twitter,YouTube,andTikTok.Socialmediatypicallyfeaturesuser-generatedcontentandpersonalizedprofiles.By2023,thenumberofsocialmediausersintheUnitedStatesisforecasttoincreasetoapproximately257million. UnderstandingSocialMedia Socialmediaoriginatedasawaytointeractwithfriendsandfamilybutwaslateradoptedbybusinessesthatwantedtotakeadvantageofapopularnewcommunicationmethodtoreachouttocustomers.ThepowerofsocialmediaistheabilitytoconnectandshareinformationwithanyoneonEarth,orwithmanypeoplesimultaneously. Therearemorethan3.8billionsocialmediausersaroundtheworld.Socialmediaisanever-changingandever-evolvingfield,withnewappssuchasTikTokandClubhousecomingoutseeminglyeveryyear,joiningtheranksofestablishedsocialnetworkslikeFacebook,YouTube,Twitter,andInstagram.By2023,thenumberofsocialmediausersintheUnitedStatesisforecasttoincreasetoapproximately257million. AccordingtothePewResearchCenter,socialmediauserstendtobeyounger.Nearly90%ofpeople betweentheagesof18 and29 usedatleastoneformofsocialmedia.Further,theseuserstendtobebetter educatedandrelativelywealthy,orearningover$75,000per year. TypesofSocialMedia Socialmediamaytaketheformofavarietyoftech-enabledactivities.Theseactivitiesincludephotosharing,blogging,socialgaming,socialnetworks,videosharing,businessnetworks,virtualworlds,reviews,andmuchmore.Evengovernmentsandpoliticiansutilizesocialmediatoengagewithconstituentsandvoters. Forindividuals,socialmediaisusedtokeepintouchwithfriendsandextendedfamily.Somepeoplewillusevarioussocialmediaapplicationstonetworkcareeropportunities,findpeopleacrosstheglobewithlike-mindedinterests,andsharetheirthoughts,feelings,insights,andemotions.Thosewhoengageintheseactivitiesarepartofavirtualsocialnetwork. Forbusinesses,socialmediaisanindispensabletool.Companiesusetheplatformtofindandengagewithcustomers,drivesalesthroughadvertisingandpromotion,gaugeconsumertrends,andoffercustomerserviceorsupport. Socialmedia'sroleinhelpingbusinessesissignificant.Itfacilitatescommunicationwithcustomers,enablingthemeldingofsocialinteractionsone-commercesites.Itsabilitytocollectinformationhelpsfocusonmarketingeffortsandmarketresearch.Ithelpsinpromotingproductsandservices,asitenablesthedistributionoftargeted,timely,andexclusivesalesandcouponstowould-becustomers.Further,socialmediacanhelpinbuildingcustomerrelationshipsthroughloyaltyprogramslinkedtosocialmedia. 145minutes Theaveragedailysocialmediausageofinternetusersworldwide. BenefitsofSocialMedia Socialmediahaschangedthewayweallinteractwitheachotheronline.Itgivesustheabilitytodiscoverwhat'shappeningintheworldinreal-time,toconnectwitheachotherandstayintouchwithlong-distancefriends,andinordertohaveaccesstoendlessamountsofinformationatourfingertips.Inmanysenses,socialmediahashelpedmanyindividualsfindcommongroundwithothersonline,makingtheworldseemmoreapproachable. AccordingtoasurveybyPewResearchCenter,theuseofsocialmediaiscorrelatedwithhavingmorefriendsandmorediversepersonalnetworks,especiallywithinemergingeconomies.Formanyteenagers,friendshipscanstartvirtually,with57%ofteensmeetingafriendonline. Businessesarealsousingsocialmediamarketingtotargettheirconsumersrightontheirphonesandcomputers,buildingafollowinginordertobuildaloyalfanbase,andcreateaculturebehindtheirownbrand.Somecompanies,suchasDenny's,havecreatedentirepersonasonTwitterinordertomarkettoyoungerconsumersusingtheirownlanguageandpersonas. ExamplesofSocialMedia Whilesocialmediahasitspositiveside,manypointtotheplatformandcalloutnegativefeatures,likeningitsoverusetoanaddiction.Somecontestitcontributestoinattentiveness,stress,andjealousy.TheNationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformationlinksheavysocialmediausetodepression.Socialmediamayalsobeaconduitformisleadinginformationandfalsehoods. The2016Americanpresidentialelectionhaswell-documentedaccountsoftheimpactoftheabilitytospreadfalseinformationthroughtheplatform.Suchaphenomenonleveragesthepowerofsocialmedia,allowing anyoneto reachanaudienceofmillionswithcontentthat lacks oversightorfact-checking. Facebookisthelargestsocialmediaplatformintheworld,withaclearadvantageoverothersocialmedia,thoughithassimilaraudiencestootherslikeTwitterandInstagram.ThefiguresforthemostpopularsocialmediawebsitesasofJanuary2021areasfollows: Facebook(2.74 billionusers)YouTube(2.29billionusers)WhatsApp(2billionusers)FacebookMessenger(1.3billionusers)Instagram(1.22billionusers)WeChat(1.21billionusers)TikTok(689millionusers)QQ(617millionusers)Douyin(600millionusers)SinoWeibo(511millionusers) WhatAretheTop10SocialMediaApps? Thetop10socialmediaappsareFacebook,YouTube,WhatsApp,FacebookMessenger,Instagram,WeChat,TikTok,QQ,Douyin,andSinoWeibo. WhatIstheUseofSocialMedia? Socialmediaallowsindividualstokeepintouchwithfriendsandextendedfamily.Somepeoplewillusevarioussocialmediaapplicationstonetworkandfindcareeropportunities,connectwithpeopleacrosstheglobewithlike-mindedinterests,andsharetheirownthoughts,feelings,andinsightsonline. WhatArethe6TypesofSocialMedia? Thesixtypesofsocialmedia,thoughthiscanbebrokendowninmanyways,includesocialnetworking,bookmarking,socialnews,mediasharing,microblogging,andonlineforumsites. WhatIstheMostPopularSocialMedia? ThemostpopularsocialmediasiteisFacebook. WhatIsSocialMediaMarketing? Socialmediamarketingistheuseofsocialnetworksinordertomarketacompany'sproducts,suchasthroughFacebookorInstagramads,usinginfluencers,orotherwisebuildingapresenceonlinetoengagewithcustomers. TheBottomLine Socialmediahastakentheworldbystorm,capturingmorethan3.8billionusersworldwideandcounting.Whetherornoteachplatformresonateswithyoupersonally,thereareendlesswaysforbusinessestomarkettotheirconsumersandtargetthemtoultimatelymakeapurchase.Allowingustostayconnectedwithfriends,findinformationeasily,andaddourownpersonalitiestotheonlineworld,socialnetworksareheretostay. ArticleSources Investopediarequireswriterstouseprimarysourcestosupporttheirwork.Theseincludewhitepapers,governmentdata,originalreporting,andinterviewswithindustryexperts.Wealsoreferenceoriginalresearchfromotherreputablepublisherswhereappropriate.Youcanlearnmoreaboutthestandardswefollowinproducingaccurate,unbiasedcontentinour editorialpolicy. DigitalMarketingInstitute."SocialMedia:WhatCountriesUseItMost&WhatAreTheyUsing?."AccessedOct31,2021. DataReportal."GlobalSocialMediaStatsOctober2021."AccessedNov.22,2021. Statista."SocialmediausageintheUnitedStates-Statistics&Facts."AccessedOct31,2021. PewResearchCenter."SocialMediaFactSheet."AccessedOct31,2021. Statista."Dailytimespentonsocialnetworkingbyinternetusersworldwidefrom2012to2020."AccessedOct31,2021. PewResearchCenter."2.Socialmediausersmorelikelytointeractwithpeoplewhoaredifferentfromthem."AccessedOct.31,2021. PewResearchCenter."Teens,TechnologyandFriendships."AccessedOct.31,2021. Twitter."@DennysDiner."AccessedOct.31,2021. USNationalLibraryofMedicine NationalInstitutesofHealth."AssociationbetweenSocialMediaUseandDepressionamongU.S.YoungAdults."AccessedOct.31,2021. TheNewYorkTimes."TheseAretheAdsRussiaBoughtonFacebookin2016."AccessedOct.31,2021. Statista."MostpopularsocialnetworksworldwideasofJanuary2021,rankedbynumberofactiveusers."AccessedOct.31,2021. CompareAccounts AdvertiserDisclosure × TheoffersthatappearinthistablearefrompartnershipsfromwhichInvestopediareceivescompensation.Thiscompensationmayimpacthowandwherelistingsappear.Investopediadoesnotincludealloffersavailableinthemarketplace. Provider Name Description RelatedTerms SocialMediaMarketing(SMS):WhatItIs,HowItWorks,ProsandCons Socialmediamarketing(SMM)istheuseofsocialmediaplatformstointeractwithcustomerstobuildbrands,increasesales,anddrivewebsitetraffic. more WhatIsSocialNetworking? Socialnetworkingistheuseofinternet-basedsocialmediaplatformstomakeconnectionsandsharevariousmediawithfriends,family,colleagues,orcustomers. more WhatIsSocialMediaOptimization(SMO)? Socialmediaoptimization(SMO)istheuseofsocialmedianetworkstomanageandgrowanorganization’smessageandonlinepresence. more WhatIsInteractiveMedia? Interactivemediaisamethodofcommunicationwherebytheprogram'soutputsdependontheuser'sinputs,andtheuser'sinputsaffecttheoutputs. more WhatIsPersonallyIdentifiableInformation(PII)?TypesandExamples Personallyidentifiableinformation(PII)isinformationthat,whenusedaloneorwithotherrelevantdata,canidentifyanindividual. more UnderstandingtheNetworkEffect Thenetworkeffectisaphenomenonwhereagoodorservicebecomesmorevaluablewhenmorepeopleuseit.Readhowthenetworkeffecthelpscompaniesgrow. more PartnerLinks RelatedArticles CompanyNews WhyTwitter'sProblemsAren'tGoingAway Startups CompaniesThatSucceededWithBootstrapping Startups Instagram:WhatItIs,ItsHistory,andHowthePopularAppWorks CompanyProfiles HowFacebook(Meta)MakesMoney CompanyNews InvestinginFacebook(Meta)Stock(META) FundamentalAnalysis BiggestCompaniesintheWorldbyMarketCap