Definition: social media

The forms of electronic communication that individuals and companies use to share information with friends, colleagues and customers. Considered the dominant public forum today, a primary feature of social media such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok is that people actively follow someone or some entity, and they are able to respond by responding directly or reposting. See retweet.

Blogs may allow feedback, and some websites do as well, but social media is all about spreading information to participating users. Contrast with "industrial media," which refer to professionally produced radio, TV and film.

The Synonyms
The terms "social media," "social network," "social networking," "social platform," "social networking site" and "social networking service" are synonymous.

The Original Upside
When social media emerged in the 2000s, it often served people in authoritarian countries by spreading news that governments would forbid on state-controlled media. There was public euphoria that the truth could no longer be hidden. To some extent, that still exists, although most autocratic leaders have either eliminated such platforms or deleted anti-government comments. See VPN.

Another consequence of social media is that "everyone can be a publisher," and when everyone is disseminating their thoughts in a public forum, it is difficult to know who is worth following and who is not.

The Current Downside
The danger of social media is that erroneous news seems to travel faster than genuine news. In Clint Watts' insightful book "Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a social media world of hackers, terrorists, Russians and fake news," he explains why social media becomes "antisocial media." In "Truth & Persuasion in the Digital Revolution," R. W. Chapman says the result of social media is "A fragmented understanding of truth. No single story or framework can claim universal validity anymore. We're adrift in a sea of micro-narratives, each person navigating their tiny boat." See fake news, disinformation and deepfake.

Algorithms Reinforce Beliefs
The social platform algorithms determine people's social, religious and political opinions by feeding them messages, news and ads that reinforce their views rather than give them anything different to expand their horizons. Computer scientist Jason Lanier defined social media as "continuous behavior modification on a titanic scale." There is little balance in today's news from any source except perhaps from "The Week," a print and online magazine noted for representing both sides in every article.

Worse for Teenagers
It is estimated that 95% of today's teens in the U.S. have constant access to smartphones, and their social life is on the screen. However, friends can be nasty and use social media to turn on their buddies almost overnight by posting lies, exaggerations and photos. It is widely known that social media can lead to feeling lonely or not up to par, and it is a major factor causing teen suicides.

In addition, with so many children given a phone or tablet as young as 8 and 9, they spend much less time together in person. Many grow up lacking the skills they would otherwise learn by playing together in the flesh. As awkward as teenage years can be for many kids before the smartphone, sociologists claim we were still better off. See influencer, viral content, new media, blog, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, podcast and user-generated content.

How It Started
In 1997, the first social media network was SixDegrees.com. Lasting until 2001, it was followed by Friendster and MySpace a year later. Started by two friends, MySpace became extremely popular, and its parent company, Intermix, was acquired by News Corporation for $580 million two years after MySpace launched. See Myspace and Friendster.

Facebook came out in 2004 targeting college students, but when opened to everyone, it grew exponentially to become the top social site. Two years later, Twitter was launched with its message broadcasting platform and created its own revolution very quickly. See social networking websites.

Social Media Tower of Babel
Citing the biblical tower, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt posted in The Atlantic in 2022 "Why the past 10 years of American life have been uniquely stupid." He said "Something went terribly wrong, very suddenly. We are disoriented, unable to speak the same language or recognize the same truth. We are cut off from one another and from the past." Haidt said "Babel is a metaphor for what social media has done to nearly all of the institutions most important to a country's future-- and to us as a people."

Teens Are Isolated

In his international best seller, Haidt claims that between 2010 and 2015 social media networks made teenagers much more isolated. He says that depression and anxiety are just two of the many pathways kids are being harmed. His remedy: no smartphones before high school, no social media until age 16, no phones in school, and pre-teens and teens should be given more responsibility.

Facts Have No Meaning

Steven Brill shows that facts have lost their significance due to social media. When people cannot agree that one plus one is two, there is no longer an approach to civil discourse.

We Are the Product!

Frank McCourt states that "if we do not pay for a product, WE ARE THE PRODUCT." Although social networks and search engines are free, they make a fortune on the data we give them.

You Are Not Our Product!

1Password.com is one of the rare websites that clarifies the privacy situation clearly. (Image courtesy of 1Password.)