social media

{{see also|Timeline of social media}}

The PLATO system was launched in 1960 at the University of Illinois and subsequently commercially marketed by Control Data Corporation. 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.{{cite web |last=Stacy |first=Christopher C. |date=September 7, 1982 |title=Getting Started Computing at the AI Lab |issue=Working Paper 235 |publisher=MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/41180/ai_wp_235.pdf?sequence=4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323132534/https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/41180/AI_WP_235.pdf?sequence=4 |archive-date=2019-03-23 }} ARPANET evolved into the Internet in the 1990s.{{ref RFC|675}} Usenet, conceived by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis in 1979 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, was the first open social media app, established in 1980.

File:Koala Country Doors Menu.jpgs and a "Who's been on today?" query]]

A precursor of the electronic bulletin board system (BBS), known as Community Memory, appeared by 1973. Mainstream BBSs arrived with the Computer Bulletin Board System in Chicago, which launched on February 16, 1978. Before long, most major US cities had more than one BBS, running on TRS-80, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, IBM PC, Commodore 64, Sinclair, and others. CompuServe, Prodigy, and AOL were three of the largest BBS companies and were the first to migrate to the Internet in the 1990s. Between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, BBSes numbered in the tens of thousands in North America alone.{{cite web|last=Edwards|first=Benj| title= The Lost Civilization of Dial-Up Bulletin Board Systems| url= https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/11/the-lost-civilization-of-dial-up-bulletin-board-systems/506465/| work= The Atlantic| date= November 4, 2016| access-date=2018-02-05}} Message forums were the signature BBS phenomenon throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee integrated HTML hypertext software with the Internet, creating the World Wide Web. This breakthrough led to an explosion of blogs, list servers, and email services. Message forums migrated to the web, and evolved into Internet forums, supported by cheaper access as well as the ability to handle far more people simultaneously.

These early text-based systems expanded to include images and video in the 21st century, aided by digital cameras and camera phones.{{cite web |year=2017 |title=CMOS Sensors Enable Phone Cameras, HD Video |url=https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2017/cg_1.html |access-date=6 November 2019 |website=NASA Spinoff |publisher=NASA}}

File:SixDegrees.com logo.png, launched in 1997, is often regarded as the first social media site.]]

The evolution of online services progressed from serving as channels for networked communication to becoming interactive platforms for networked social interaction with the advent of Web 2.0.

Social media started in the mid-1990s with the invention of platforms like GeoCities, Classmates.com, and SixDegrees.com.{{cite web |last=Ngak |first=Chenda |date=2011-07-06 |title=Then and now: a history of social networking sites |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/then-and-now-a-history-of-social-networking-sites/2/ |access-date=2018-01-26 |work=CBS news}} 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. It boasted features like profiles, friends lists, and school affiliations, making it "the very first social networking site".{{cite book |last1=Kirkpatrick |first1=David |title=The Facebook effect: the real inside story of Mark Zuckerberg and the world's fastest-growing company |date=2011 |publisher=Virgin |location=London}} The platform's name was inspired by the "six degrees of separation" concept, which suggests that every person on the planet is just six connections away from everyone else.{{Cite web |date=2020-02-11|title=A Brief History of Social Media & timeline - 1973 to 2021 |url=https://dewzilla.com/a-brief-history-of-social-media/ |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=Dewzilla |language=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023215054/https://dewzilla.com/a-brief-history-of-social-media/}}

In the early 2000s, social media platforms gained widespread popularity with BlackPlanet (1999) preceding Friendster and Myspace,{{Cite news |last=Giorgis |first=Hannah |date=2024-04-12 |title=The Homepage of the Black Internet |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/05/blackplanet-social-media-history/677839/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |work=The Atlantic |language=en |issn=2151-9463}}{{citation |title=BlackPlanet's founder talks MySpace, why he was sceptical of Twitter, and if Facebook may have peaked |date=2011-03-23 |work=Complex |url=http://www.complex.com/tech/2011/03/interview-blackplanet-founder-talks-myspace-twitter-facebook |access-date=2011-04-19}} followed by Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Social media|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-media |access-date=2022-06-14}}

Research from 2015 reported that globally, users spent 22% of their online time on social networks,{{cite web |last1=Nielsen Company |date=June 15, 2010 |title=Social Networks Blogs Now Account for One in Every Four and a Half Minutes Online |url=http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2010/social-media-accounts-for-22-percent-of-time-online.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506180045/https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2010/social-media-accounts-for-22-percent-of-time-online/ |archive-date=2022-05-06 |access-date=2015-04-30 |website=Nielsen}} likely fueled by the availability of smartphones.{{Cite web|last=Sterling|first=Greg|date=April 4, 2016|title=Nearly 80 percent of social media time now spent on mobile devices|url=http://marketingland.com/facebook-usage-accounts-1-5-minutes-spent-mobile-171561|publisher=Marketing Land|access-date=2022-08-29}} As of 2023, as many as 4.76 billion people used social media{{Cite web |title=Global Social Media Statistics |url=https://datareportal.com/social-media-users |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=DataReportal – Global Digital Insights |language=en-GB}} some 59% of the global population.

A 2015 review identified four features unique to social media services:

• Web 2.0 Internet-based applications.
• User-generated content
• User-created self profiles
• Social networks formed by connections between profiles, such as followers, groups, and lists.

In 2019, Merriam-Webster defined social media as "forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)."{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social+media|title=social media|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=March 2, 2022}}

Social media encompasses an expanding suite of services:{{cite journal|last1=Aichner|first1=Thomas|last2=Jacob|first2=Frank H.|s2cid=166531788 |title=Measuring the Degree of Corporate Social Media Use |journal=International Journal of Market Research |date=March 2015 |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=257–275|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283073224|doi=10.2501/IJMR-2015-018 }}

• Blogs (ex. HuffPost, Boing Boing)
• Business networks (ex. LinkedIn, XING)
• Collaborative projects (Mozilla, GitHub)
• Enterprise social networks (Yammer, Socialcast, Slack)
• Forums (Gaia Online, IGN)
• Microblogs (Twitter, Tumblr, Weibo)
• Photo sharing (Pinterest, Flickr, Photobucket)
• Products/services review (Amazon, Upwork)
• Social bookmarking (Delicious, Pinterest)
• Social gaming including MMORPGs (Fortnite, World of Warcraft)
• Social network (Facebook, Instagram, Baidu Tieba, VK, QZone, ShareChat, WeChat, LINE)
• Video sharing (YouTube, Vimeo)
• Virtual worlds (Second Life, Twinity)

Some services offer more than one type of service.

Mobile social media refers to the use of social media on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. It is distinguished by its ubiquity, since users no longer have to be at a desk in order to participate on a computer. Mobile services can further make use of the user's immediate location to offer information, connections, or services relevant to that location.

According to Andreas Kaplan, mobile social media activities fall among four types:{{cite journal |last=Kaplan |first=Andreas M. |date=March–April 2012 |title=If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing and mobile social media 4x4 |journal=Business Horizons |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=129–139 |doi=10.1016/j.bushor.2011.10.009}}

• Space-timers (location and time-sensitive): Exchange of messages with relevance for a specific location at a specific point in time (posting about a traffic jam)
• Space-locators (only location sensitive): Posts/messages with relevance for a specific location, read later by others (e.g. a restaurant review)
• Quick-timers (only time sensitive): Transfer of traditional social media mobile apps to increase immediacy (e.g. posting status updates)
• Slow-timers (neither location nor time sensitive): Transfer of traditional social media applications to mobile devices (e.g. watching a video)

{{Main|Viral phenomenon}}

Certain content has the potential to spread virally, an analogy for the way viral infections spread contagiously from individual to individual. One user spreads a post across their network, which leads those users to follow suit. A post from a relatively unknown user can reach vast numbers of people within hours. Virality is not guaranteed; few posts make the transition.

Viral marketing campaigns are particularly attractive to businesses because they can achieve widespread advertising coverage at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing campaigns. Nonprofit organizations and activists may also attempt to spread content virally.

Social media sites provide specific functionality to help users re-share content, such as X's and Facebook's "like" option.{{Cite arXiv|eprint=1106.0346|class=cs.SI|first=Rumi|last=Ghosh|title=Entropy-based Classification of 'Retweeting' Activity on Twitter|date=June 2011}}

{{Main|Internet bot}}

Bots are automated programs that operate on the internet.{{Cite web|title=bots|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/bots?s=t|access-date=2017-05-11|website=Dictionary.com}} They automate many communication tasks. This has led to the creation of an industry of bot providers.{{Cite web |title=DemTech {{!}} Industrialized Disinformation: 2020 Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation |url=https://demtech.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/posts/industrialized-disinformation/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=demtech.oii.ox.ac.uk |language=en-GB}}

Chatbots and social bots are programmed to mimic human interactions such as liking, commenting, and following.{{cite book|last1=Martinez Rodrigo|first1=Salto|last2=Jacques-García|first2=Fausto Abraham|title=2012 Ninth International Conference on Information Technology - New Generations |chapter=Development and Implementation of a Chat Bot in a Social Network |year=2012|doi=10.1109/ITNG.2012.147|pages=751–755 |isbn=978-1-4673-0798-7 |s2cid=207008003 }} Bots have also been developed to facilitate social media marketing.{{Cite journal|last1=Castronovo|first1=Cristina|last2=Huang|first2=Lei|date=2012|title=Social Media in Alternative Marketing Communication Model|journal=Journal of Marketing Development & Competitivness|volume=6|pages=117–136}} Bots have led the marketing industry into an analytical crisis, as bots make it difficult to differentiate between human interactions and bot interactions.{{Cite journal|last=Baym|first=Nancy K.|date=October 7, 2013|title=Data Not Seen: The uses and shortcomings of social media metrics|journal=First Monday|volume=18|issue=10|doi=10.5210/fm.v18i10.4873 |doi-access=free }} Some bots violate platforms' terms of use, which can result in bans and campaigns to eliminate bots categorically.{{Cite web|url=https://help.instagram.com/478745558852511|title=Terms of Use|website=help.instagram.com|language=en|access-date=2017-06-26}} Bots may even pose as real people to avoid prohibitions.

'Cyborgs'—either bot-assisted humans or human-assisted bots{{cite journal|last1=Chu|first1=Z.|last2=Gianvecchio|first2=S.|last3=Wang|first3=H.|last4=Jajodia|first4=S.|year=2012|title=Detecting automation of Twitter accounts: Are you a human, bot, or cyborg?|journal=IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing|volume=9|issue=6|pages=811–824|doi=10.1109/tdsc.2012.75|s2cid=351844}}—are used for both legitimate and illegitimate purposes, from spreading fake news to creating marketing buzz.{{cite journal|last1=Stone-Gross|first1=B.|last2=Holz|first2=T.|last3=Stringhini|first3=G.|last4=Vigna|first4=G.|year=2011|title=The Underground Economy of Spam: A Botmaster's Perspective of Coordinating Large-Scale Spam Campaigns|url=http://static.usenix.org/events/leet11/tech/full_papers/Stone-Gross.pdf|journal=LEET|volume=11|pages=4}}{{Cite news|url=http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/the-future-is-android/index.html|last=House|first=Arthur|title=The real cyborgs - in-depth feature about people merging with machines|newspaper=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=March 2, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-twitter-army-228923|title=Inside Trump's 'cyborg' Twitter army|date=2016-09-30|work=Politico|last=Schreckinger|first=Ben|access-date=2022-08-29}} A common use claimed to be legitimate includes posting at a specific time.{{Cite web|last=Pilon|first=Annie|date=2021-03-11|title=50 Social Media Management Tools for your Business|url=https://smallbiztrends.com/2021/03/social-media-management-tools.html|access-date=2021-03-26|publisher=Small Business Trends|language=en-us}} A human writes a post content and the bot posts it a specific time. In other cases, cyborgs spread fake news. Cyborgs may work as sock puppets, where one human pretends to be someone else, or operates multiple accounts, each pretending to be a person.

{{main|Software patent}}

A multitude of United States patents are related to social media, growing rapidly.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} {{As of|2020}}, over 5000 social media patent applications had been published in the United States.{{cite web |url=http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=0&p=1&f=S&l=50&Query=spec%2F%22social+media%22&d=PG01 |title=USPTO search on published patent applications mentioning "social media" |publisher=Appft.uspto.gov |access-date=2012-04-24 |archive-date=2018-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915174948/http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=0&p=1&f=S&l=50&Query=spec%2F%22social+media%22&d=PG01 |url-status=dead }} Only slightly over 100 patents had been issued.{{cite web |url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=0&p=1&f=S&l=50&Query=spec%2F%22social+media%22&d=PTXT |title=USPTO search on issued patents mentioning "social media" |publisher=Patft.uspto.gov |access-date=2012-04-24 |archive-date=2021-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224013356/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=0&p=1&f=S&l=50&Query=spec%2F%22social+media%22&d=PTXT |url-status=dead }}

{{anchor|Scope expansion and feature merge}}

As an instance of technological convergence, various social media platforms adapted functionality beyond their original scope, increasingly overlapping with each other.

Examples are the social hub site Facebook launching an integrated video platform in May 2007,{{cite web |first=Pete |last=Cashmore |title=Facebook Video Launches: YouTube Beware! |url=http://mashable.com/2007/05/24/facebook-video-launches/ |website=Mashable |date=May 25, 2007 |access-date=June 15, 2017}} and Instagram, whose original scope was low-resolution photo sharing, introducing the ability to share quarter-minute 640×640 pixel videos{{cite web |title=Introducing Video on Instagram|date=2013-06-20|url=https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/introducing-video-on-instagram |publisher=Instagram|language=en}} (later extended to a minute with increased resolution). Instagram later implemented stories (short videos self-destructing after 24 hours), a concept popularized by Snapchat, as well as IGTV, for seekable videos.{{cite web |url=https://animoto.com/blog/video-marketing/instagram-video-length |title=Instagram Video Length Guide (An Easy Cheat Sheet)|last=Livesay|first=Kari|date=2022-04-13|publisher=Animoto|access-date=2022-08-29}} Stories were then adopted by YouTube.{{cite web |last1=Alexander |first1=Julia |title=YouTube is rolling out its Instagram-like Stories feature to more creators |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/29/18117670/youtube-stories-creators-subscribers-instagram-philip-defranco |website=The Verge |language=en |date=29 November 2018}}

X, whose original scope was text-based microblogging, later adopted photo sharing,{{cite web |last1=Parr |first1=Ben |title=Twitter Rolls Out Photo Sharing to All Users |url=https://mashable.com/2011/08/09/twitter-photo-sharing-all/ |website=Mashable |language=en |date=Aug 10, 2011}} then video sharing,{{cite web |title=Now on Twitter: group Direct Messages and mobile video camera |url=https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/a/2015/now-on-twitter-group-direct-messages-and-mobile-video-capture.html|last=Kamdar|first=Jinen|publisher=Twitter|date=2015-01-27|language=en-us}}{{cite web |title=New ways to tap into video on Twitter |url=https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/a/2016/new-ways-to-tap-into-video-on-twitter.html|publisher=Twitter|date=2016-06-21|last=Rishel|first=Jeremy|language=en-us |access-date=2022-08-29}} then a media studio for business users, after YouTube's Creator Studio.{{cite web |title=Twitter Updates Media Studio, Expands Access to All Users |url=https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/twitter-updates-media-studio-expands-access-all-users |last=Hutchinson|first=Andrew|date=2017-03-15|publisher=Social Media Today|access-date=2022-08-29}}

The discussion platform Reddit added an integrated image hoster replacing the external image sharing platform Imgur,{{cite web |title=r/announcements - Image Hosting on Reddit |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/4p5dm9/image_hosting_on_reddit/ |publisher=reddit |date=2016-06-21|access-date=2022-08-29}} and then an internal video hosting service,{{cite web |title=r/changelog - [Reddit change] Introducing video uploading beta |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/changelog/comments/6jo5it/reddit_change_introducing_video_uploading_beta/ |publisher=reddit |date=2017-06-26|access-date=2022-08-29}} followed by image galleries (multiple images in a single post), known from Imgur.{{cite web |title=Introducing Reddit Image Galleries |url=https://redditblog.com/2020/07/15/introducing-reddit-image-galleries-now-redditors-can-share-multiple-images-and-gifs-in-one-post/ |website=Upvoted |date=2020-07-15|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716191433/https://redditblog.com/2020/07/15/introducing-reddit-image-galleries-now-redditors-can-share-multiple-images-and-gifs-in-one-post/}} Imgur implemented video sharing.{{cite web |last1=Liao |first1=Shannon |title=Imgur adds 30-second video uploads so your GIFs can have soundtracks |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/29/17406840/imgur-video-upload-unmuted-gifs-sound-on |website=The Verge |language=en |date=29 May 2018}}{{cite web |title=How to Upload Video |url=https://help.imgur.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003632072-How-to-Upload-Video |website=Imgur|url-status=dead|archive-date=2019-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613074923/https://help.imgur.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003632072-How-to-Upload-Video}}

YouTube rolled out a Community feature, for sharing text-only posts and polls.{{cite tweet |author=TeamYouTube |user=TeamYouTube |number=1072581870389473281 |date=December 11, 2018 |title=New on the Community tab: Post Playlists to engage with your audience! If you have Community posts enabled on your channel, learn more about Playlist posts here → https://t.co/mE5tl7nR6E https://t.co/BR0ijr0xEq |language=en |access-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105171252/https://twitter.com/teamyoutube/status/1072581870389473281 |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |url-status=live}}

{{main|List of social platforms with at least 100 million active users}}

According to Statista, it is estimated that, in 2022, around 3.96 billion people were using social media globally. This number is up from 3.6 billion in 2020.{{Cite web|title=Number of global social network users 2017-2025{{!}} Statista|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/|access-date=2022-08-29|website=Statista|language=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=2021-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818050635/https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/}}

The following is a list of the most popular social networking services based on the number of active users {{as of|January 2024|lc=y}} per Statista.{{cite web |title=Most popular social networks worldwide as of January 2022, ranked by number of monthly active users (in millions)|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ |website=Statista|url-status=dead|archive-date=2022-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129042041/https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+

Social networking services with the most users, January 2024{{Cite web |title=Biggest social media platforms 2024 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=Statista |language=en}}

!#

!Network

!Number of users (millions)

!Country of origin

|-

|1

|Facebook

|3,049

|United States

|-

|2

|YouTube

|2,491

|United States

|-

|3

|WhatsApp

|2,000

|United States

|-

|4

|Instagram

|2,000

|United States

|-

|5

|TikTok

|1,526

|China

|-

|6

|WeChat

|1,336

|China

|-

|7

|Facebook Messenger

|979

|United States

|-

|8

|Telegram

|800

|Russia

|-

|9

|Douyin

|752

|China

|-

|10

|Snapchat

|750

|United States

|-

|11

|Kuaishou

|685

|China

|-

|12

|Twitter

|619

|United States

|}

A 2009 study suggested that individual differences may help explain who uses social media: extraversion and openness have a positive relationship with social media, while emotional stability has a negative sloping relationship with social media.{{Cite journal|last1=Correa|first1=Teresa|last2=Hinsley|first2=Amber W.|date=October 2009|title=Who Interacts on the Web?: The Intersection of Users' Personality and Social Media Use|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563209001472|journal=Computers in Human Behavior|volume=26|issue=2|pages=247–253|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2009.09.003|s2cid=3748842 }} A 2015 study reported that people with a higher social comparison orientation appear to use social media more heavily than people with low social comparison orientation.{{cite journal|last1=Vogel|first1=Erin A.|last2=Rose|first2=Jason P.|last3=Okdie|first3=Bradley M.|last4=Eckles|first4=Katheryn|last5=Franz|first5=Brittany|year=2015|title=Who compares and despairs? The effect of social comparison orientation on social media use and its outcomes|journal=Personality and Individual Differences|volume=86|pages=249–56|doi=10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.026|s2cid=37514412 }}

Common Sense Media reported that children under age 13 in the United States use social networking services although many social media sites require users to be 13 or older.{{Cite news|last=Jargon|first=Julie|date=June 19, 2019|title=How 13 Became the Internet's Age of Adulthood|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-13-became-the-internets-age-of-adulthood-11560850201}} In 2017, the firm conducted a survey of parents of children from birth to age 8 and reported that 4% of children at this age used social media sites such as Instagram, Snapchat, or (now-defunct) Musical.ly "often" or "sometimes".{{Cite web|last=Rideout|first=Vicky|date=2017-10-19|title=The Common Sense census: Media use by kids age zero to eight, 2017|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-kids-age-zero-to-eight-2017|publisher=Common Sense Media|access-date=2022-08-29}} Their 2019 survey surveyed Americans ages 8–16 and reported that about 31% of children ages 8–12 use social media.{{Cite web|last1=Rideout|first1=Vicky|last2=Robb|first2=Michael B.|date=2019|title=The Common Sense census: Media use by tweens and teens, 2019|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-2019|website=Common Sense Media}} In that survey, teens aged 16–18 were asked when they started using social media. the median age was 14, although 28% said they started to use it before reaching 13.

Social media played a role in communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite journal |last1=Saud |first1=Muhammad |last2=Mashud |first2=Musta'in |last3=Ida |first3=Rachmah |date=2020-09-15 |title=Usage of social media during the pandemic: Seeking support and awareness about COVID-19 through social media platforms |journal=Journal of Public Affairs |language=en |pages=e02417 |doi=10.1002/pa.2417|s2cid=224943667 |doi-access=free }} In June 2020, a survey by Cartoon Network and the Cyberbullying Research Center surveyed Americans tweens (ages 9–12) and reported that the most popular application was YouTube (67%).{{Cite web|last1=Patchin|first1=Justin W.|last2=Hinduja|first2=Sameer|date=2020|title=Tween cyberbullying in 2020|url=https://www.cartoonnetwork.com/stop-bullying/resources.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020083610/https://www.cartoonnetwork.com/stop-bullying/resources.html|archive-date=2020-10-20|website=Cartoon Network}} (as age increased, tweens were more likely to have used social media apps and games.) Similarly, Common Sense Media's 2020 survey of Americans ages 13–18 reported that YouTube was the most popular (used by 86% of 13- to 18-year-olds).{{Cite web|last=Robb|first=Michael B.|date=2020|title=Teens and the news: The influencers, celebrities, and platforms they say matter most, 2020|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/teens-and-the-news-the-influencers-celebrities-and-platforms-they-say-matter-most-2020|website=Common Sense Media|access-date=2022-08-29}} As children aged, they increasingly utilized social media services and often used YouTube to consume content.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+Apps used by U.S. tweens (ages 9–12), 2019-2020{{Rp|39–42}}

!Platform

!Overall

!Boys

!Girls

!9-year-olds

!12-year-olds

|-

|YouTube

|67%

|68%

|66%

|53.6%

|74.6%

|-

|Minecraft

|48%

|61%

|35%

|43.6%

|49.9%

|-

|Roblox

|47%

|44%

|49%

|41.2%

|41.7%

|-

|Google Classroom

|45%

|48%

|41%

|39.6%

|49.3%

|-

|Fortnite

|31%

|43%

|20%

|22.2%

|38.9%

|-

|TikTok

|30%

|23%

|30%

|16.8%

|37%

|-

|YouTube Kids

|26%

|24%

|28%

|32.7%

|22.1%

|-

|Snapchat

|16%

|11%

|21%

|5.6%

|22.3%

|-

|Facebook Messenger Kids

|15%

|12%

|18%

|19.1%

|10.4%

|-

|Instagram

|15%

|12%

|19%

|3%

|28.8%

|-

|Discord

|8%

|11%

|5%

|0.7%

|14.4%

|-

|Facebook

|8%

|6%

|9%

|2.2%

|15%

|-

|Twitch

|5%

|7%

|2%

|1.0%

|9.9%

|-

|None of the above

|5%

|6%

|5%

|9.6%

|3.3%

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+Social media platforms used by U.S. kids in 2020 (ages 13–18) and 2017 (ages 10–18)

!Platform

!2020

!2017

|-

|YouTube

|86%

|70%

|-

|Instagram

|69%

|60%

|-

|Snapchat

|68%

|59%

|-

|TikTok

|47%

|N/A

|-

|Facebook

|43%

|63%

|-

|Twitter

|28%

|36%

|-

|Reddit

|14%

|6%

|-

|Another social networking service

|2%

|3%

|-

|Do not use social networking service

|4%

|6%

|}

While adults were using social media before the COVID-19 pandemic, more started using it to stay socially connected and to get pandemic updates.

"Social media have become popularly use to seek for medical information and have fascinated the general public to collect information regarding corona virus pandemics in various perspectives. During these days, people are forced to stay at home and the social media have connected and supported awareness and pandemic updates."{{Cite journal|last1=Saud|first1=Muhammad|last2=Mashud|first2=Musta'in|last3=Ida|first3=Rachmah|date=2020|title=Usage of social media during the pandemic: Seeking support and awareness about COVID-19 through social media platforms|journal=Journal of Public Affairs|language=en|volume=20|issue=4|pages=e2417|doi=10.1002/pa.2417|s2cid=224943667|issn=1479-1854|doi-access=free}}

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media use has accelerated to the point of becoming a ubiquitous part of modern healthcare systems."{{Cite journal|last1=Wong|first1=Adrian|last2=Ho|first2=Serene|last3=Olusanya|first3=Olusegun|last4=Antonini|first4=Marta Velia|last5=Lyness|first5=David|date=2021-08-01|title=The use of social media and online communications in times of pandemic COVID-19|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1751143720966280|journal=Journal of the Intensive Care Society|language=en|volume=22|issue=3|pages=255–260|doi=10.1177/1751143720966280|issn=1751-1437|pmc=8373288|pmid=34422109}}

"Promotion of the joint usage of #PedsICU and #COVID19 throughout the international pediatric critical care community in tweets relevant to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and pediatric critical care."

Governments may use social media to (for example):{{cite book | last1 = Khan | first1 = Gohar F. | title = Social Media for Government: A Practical Guide to Understanding, Implementing, and Managing Social Media Tools in the Public Sphere | url = {{google books|plainurl=yes|id=rT0jDgAAQBAJ}} | series = SpringerBriefs in Political Science | location = Singapore | publisher = Springer | date = 2017 | isbn = 978-981-10-2942-4 | access-date=2019-04-28}}

• inform their opinions to public
• interact with citizens
• foster citizen participation
• further open government
• analyze/monitor public opinion and activities
• educate the public about risks and public health.{{cite book | last1 = Gesser-Edelsburg | first1 = Anat | last2 = Shir-Raz | first2 = Yaffa | title = Risk Communication and Infectious Diseases in an Age of Digital Media | url = https://www.routledge.com/Risk-Communication-and-Infectious-Diseases-in-an-Age-of-Digital-Media/Gesser-Edelsburg-Shir-Raz/p/book/9780367224059 | series = Routledge Studies in Public Health | date = 2017 | isbn = 978-0-367-22405-9 | access-date=2020-11-22}}

Social media has been used extensively in civil and criminal investigations.{{cite book|last1=Brunty|first1=Joshua|last2=Helenek|first2=Katherine|url={{Google books|6hygBAAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}}|title=Social Media Investigation for Law Enforcement|date=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-52165-5}} It has also been used to search for missing persons.{{cite book|title=Handbook of Missing Persons|date=2016|publisher=Springer International|first1=Caroline Sturdy|last1=Colls|pages=97, 102, 164|editor-first1=Stephen J.|editor-last1=Morewitz}} Police departments often make use of official social media accounts to engage with the public, publicize police activity, and burnish law enforcement's image;{{cite web|last1=Perez|first1=Kaitlyn|date=June 30, 2017|title=Social Media Has Become a Critical Part of Law Enforcement|url=https://www.policefoundation.org/social-media-has-become-a-critical-part-of-law-enforcement/|publisher=National Police Foundation|url-status=dead|archive-date=2019-04-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424140454/https://www.policefoundation.org/social-media-has-become-a-critical-part-of-law-enforcement/}}{{cite encyclopedia|url={{Google books|E28KBAAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}}|first=Christopher J.|last=Schneider|pages=229–30|encyclopedia=Social Media, Politics and the StateProtests, Revolutions, Riots, Crime and Policing in the Age of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|title=Police "Image Work" in an Era of Social Media" YouTube and 2007 Montebello Summit Protests|series=Routledge Research in Information Technology and Society|isbn=978-1-317-65548-0}} conversely, video footage of citizen-documented police brutality and other misconduct has sometimes been posted to social media.

In the United States, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement identifies and track individuals via social media, and has apprehended some people via social media-based sting operations.{{Cite news|last=Funk|first=McKenzie|date=2019-10-02|title=How ICE Picks Its Targets in the Surveillance Age|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/magazine/ice-surveillance-deportation.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002091002/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/magazine/ice-surveillance-deportation.html |archive-date=2019-10-02 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2019-10-22|issn=0362-4331}} U.S. Customs and Border Protection (also known as CBP) 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.{{Cite report|title=Social Media Monitoring|url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/social-media-monitoring|publisher=Brennan Center for Justice|pages=255–57|last1=Patel|first1=Faiza|last2=Levinson-Waldman|first2=Rachel|last3=Koreh|first3=Raya|last4=DenUyl|first4=Sophia|date=2020-03-11|access-date=2022-08-29}} CBP officers have also been documented performing searches of electronics and social media behavior at the border, searching both citizens and non-citizens without first obtaining a warrant.

As social media gained momentum among the younger generations, governments began using it to improve their image, especially among the youth. In January 2021, Egyptian authorities were reported to be using Instagram influencers as part of its media ambassadors program. The program was designed to revamp Egypt's image and to counter the bad press Egypt had received because of the country's human rights record. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates participated in similar programs.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/29/sugar-coated-propaganda-egypt-taps-into-power-instagram-influencers|title=Sugar-coated propaganda? Middle East taps into power of influencers|access-date=29 January 2020|website=The Guardian|last1=Michaelson|first1=Ruth|last2=Safi|first2=Michael|date=2021-01-29}} Similarly, Dubai has extensively relied on social media and influencers to promote tourism. However, Dubai laws have kept these influencers within limits to not offend the authorities, or to criticize the city, politics or religion. The content of these foreign influencers is controlled to make sure that nothing portrays Dubai in a negative light.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/17/in-this-world-social-media-is-everything-how-dubai-became-the-planets-influencer-capital|title='In this world, social media is everything': how Dubai became the planet's influencer capital|access-date=17 April 2021|website=The Guardian|last=Michaelson|first=Ruth|date=17 April 2021}}

{{Main|Social media use by businesses}}

Many businesses use social media for marketing, branding,{{Cite web |last=Spillane |first=James |date=3 January 2013 |title=5 Indirect Ways Building Social Authority Improves Your Brand |work=Business2Community |url=https://www.business2community.com/branding/5-indirect-ways-building-social-authority-improves-your-brand-0368379 |access-date=2019-05-03 |publisher=Business 2 Community}} advertising, communication, sales promotions, informal employee-learning/organizational development, competitive analysis, recruiting, relationship management/loyalty programs, and e-Commerce. Companies use social-media monitoring tools to monitor, track, and analyze conversations to aid in their marketing, sales and other programs. Tools range from free, basic applications to subscription-based, tools. Social media offers information on industry trends. Within the finance industry, companies use social media as a tool for analyzing market sentiment. These range from marketing financial products, market trends, and as a tool to identify insider trading.{{cite book|last1=Lugmayr|first1=Artur|title=Handbook of Social Media Management |chapter=Predicting the Future of Investor Sentiment with Social Media in Stock Exchange Investments: A Basic Framework for the DAX Performance Index |year=2013|volume=Springer Berlin Heidelberg|pages=565–589|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-28897-5_33|isbn=978-3-642-28896-8}} To exploit these opportunities, businesses need guidelines for use on each platform.{{cite journal |last1= Kaplan |first1= Andreas M. |author-link1 = Andreas Kaplan|last2= Haenlein |first2= Michael|title= Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0007681309001232 |journal= Business Horizons |publisher = Kelley School of Business |location= Bloomington, Indiana |date= 2010 |volume= 53 |issue= 1 |pages= 61, 64–65, 67 |doi= 10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003 |s2cid= 16741539 |access-date = 2019-04-28|quote= Social Media is a very active and fast-moving domain. What may be up-to-date today could have disappeared from the virtual landscape tomorrow. It is therefore crucial for firms to have a set of guidelines that can be applied to any form of Social Media [...].}}

Business use of social media is complicated by the fact that the business does not fully control its social media presence. Instead, it makes its case by participating in the "conversation".{{cite web|title=Research Survey|url=http://mprcenter.org/blog/2010/08/04/research-survey-launched-social-media-and-influence-of-photos-on-body-image/|last=Rutledge|first=Pamela|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504164122/http://mprcenter.org/blog/2010/08/04/research-survey-launched-social-media-and-influence-of-photos-on-body-image/|archive-date=2012-05-04|access-date=2012-04-24|publisher=The Media Psychology Blog|quote=One of the tenets of social media is that you can't control your message, you can only participate in the conversation.}} Business uses social media{{Cite journal|last1=Meske|first1=Christian|last2=Stieglitz|first2=Stefan|date=2014-01-15|title=Reflektion der wissenschaftlichen Nutzenbetrachtung von Social Software / Reflecting the Scientific Discussion of Benefits Induced by Social Software|journal=I-com|volume=13|issue=3|doi=10.1515/icom.2014.0015|issn=2196-6826|s2cid=168104889}} on a customer-organizational level; and an intra-organizational level.

Social media can encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, by highlighting successes, and by easing access to resources that might not otherwise be readily available/known.{{cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Wei|last2=Liang|first2=Qiaozhuan|last3=Mahto|first3=Raj V.|last4=Deng|first4=Wei|last5=Zhang|first5=Stephen X.|date=2020|journal=Technological Forecasting and Social Change|doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120337|title=Entrepreneurial entry: The role of social media|volume=161|pmid=33012851|page=120337|pmc=7522013 }}

{{main|Social media marketing}}

Social media marketing can help promote a product or service and establish connections with customers. Social media marketing can be divided into paid media, earned media, and owned media.{{Cite journal|last1=Stephen|first1=Andrew T.|last2=Galak|first2=Jeff|date=2012-10-01|title=The Effects of Traditional and Social Earned Media on Sales: A Study of a Microlending Marketplace|url=https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.09.0401|journal=Journal of Marketing Research|language=en|volume=49|issue=5|pages=624–639|doi=10.1509/jmr.09.0401|s2cid=167535488|issn=0022-2437}} Using paid social media firms run advertising on a social media platform. Earned social media appears when firms do something that impresses stakeholders and they spontaneously post content about it. Owned social media is the platform markets itself by creating/promoting content to its users.{{Cite web |last=Brenner |first=Michael |date=2022-04-07 |title=What Are Paid, Owned, and Earned Media, and Which One Drives More ROI? |url=https://marketinginsidergroup.com/content-marketing/what-are-paid-owned-and-earned-media-and-which-one-drives-more-roi/ |access-date=2022-09-22 |website=Marketing Insider Group |language=en-US}}

Primary uses are to create brand awareness, engage customers by conversation (e.g., customers provide feedback on the firm) and providing access to customer service.{{cite book|last1=Chaffey|first1=Dave|title=Digital Marketing|last2=Ellis-Chadwick|first2=Fiona|date=2012|publisher=Pearson|isbn=978-0-273-74610-2|edition=5th|pages=30–31}} Social media's peer-to-peer communication shifts power from the organization to consumers, since consumer content is widely visible and not controlled by the company.{{cite journal|last1=Sorescu|first1=Alina|last2=Frambach|first2=Ruud T.|last3=Singh|first3=Jagdip|last4=Rangaswamy|first4=Arvind|last5=Bridges|first5=Cheryl|date=July 2011|title=Innovations in Retail Business Models|journal=Journal of Retailing|volume=87|pages=S3–S16|doi=10.1016/j.jretai.2011.04.005|s2cid=27878657}}

Social media personalities, often referred to as "influencers", are Internet celebrities who are sponsored by marketers to promote products and companies online. Research reports that these endorsements attract the attention of users who have not settled on which products/services to buy,{{cite web|last1=Newman|first1=Daniel|title=Love It Or Hate It: Influencer Marketing Works|date=2015-06-23|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2015/06/23/love-it-or-hate-it-influencer-marketing-works/#5718a249150b|access-date=2017-11-11|work=Forbes}} especially younger consumers.{{cite journal|last1=Dunkley|first1=Lydia|title=Reaching Generation Z: Harnessing the Power of Digital Influencers in Film Publicity|url=https://promotionalcommunications.org/index.php/pc/article/view/85|access-date=2017-11-11|journal=Journal of Promotional Communications|date=7 February 2017 |volume=5 |issue=1 }} The practice of harnessing influencers to market or promote a product or service to their following is commonly referred to as influencer marketing.

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. The US Federal Trade Commission issued similar guidelines.{{Cite web|date=2019-11-05|title=FTC Releases Advertising Disclosures Guidance for Online Influencers|url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/11/ftc-releases-advertising-disclosures-guidance-online-influencers|access-date=2021-05-14|publisher=Federal Trade Commission|language=en}}

Social media platforms also enable targeting specific audiences with advertising. Users of social media can share, and comment on the advertisement, turning passive consumers into active promoters and even producers.{{cite journal |last1=Shu-Chuan |first1=Chu |date=2011 |title=Viral Advertising in Social Media Participation in Facebook Groups and Responses among College-Aged Users |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15252019.2011.10722189 |journal=Journal of Interactive Advertising |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=32 |doi=10.1080/15252019.2011.10722189 |s2cid=4336043 |access-date=2018-03-07}} Targeting requires extra effort by advertisers to understand how to reach the right users. Companies can use humor (such as shitposting) to poke fun at competitors.{{cite web |last1=Hardy |first1=Kevin |date=June 18, 2018 |title=Wendy's Roasts its Way to Social Media Stardom |url=https://www.qsrmagazine.com/exclusives/wendys-roasts-its-way-social-media-stardom |access-date=2018-06-18 |website=qsrmagazine.com}} Advertising can even inspire fanart which can engage new audiences.{{Cite web |title=Explore the Best Wendysmascot Art |url=https://www.deviantart.com/tag/wendysmascot |access-date=2021-12-31 |website=DeviantArt |language=en}} Hashtags (such as #ejuice and #eliquid) are one way to target interested users.{{cite journal |last1=Linnea |first1=Laestadius |last2=Wahl |first2=Megan |last3=Pokhrel |first3=Pallav |last4=Cho |first4=Young |year=2019 |title=From Apple to Werewolf: A content analysis of marketing for e-liquids on Instagram |journal=Addictive Behaviors |volume=91 |pages=119–127 |doi=10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.09.008 |pmc=6358470 |pmid=30253933}}

User content can trigger peer effects, increasing consumer interest even without influencer involvement. A 2012 study focused on this communication reported that communication among peers can affect purchase intentions: direct impact through encouraging conformity, and an indirect impact by increasing product engagement. This study claimed that peer communication about a product increased product engagement.{{Cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Xia|last2=Yu|first2=Chunling|last3=Wei|first3=Yujie|date=November 2012|title=Social Media Peer Communication and Impacts on Purchase Intentions: A Consumer Socialization Framework|url=http://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/78294.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Journal of Interactive Marketing|volume=26|issue=4|pages=198–208|doi=10.1016/j.intmar.2011.11.004|s2cid=167862356|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215053717/http://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/78294.pdf|archive-date=2017-12-15}}

{{Main|Social media use in politics}}

{{See also| Social impact of YouTube|Use of social media in the Wisconsin protests|Social media and political communication in the United States}}

Social media have a range of uses in politics.

{{cite book | last1 = Rainie | first1 = Lee | last2 = Wellman | first2 = Barry | author-link2 = Barry Wellman | chapter = The Internet Revolution | title = Networked: The New Social Operating System | date = 27 April 2012 | url = {{Google books|bYJGna0AhdAC|plainurl=yes}} | location = Cambridge, Massachusetts | publisher = MIT Press | publication-date = 2012 | page = 71 | isbn = 978-0-262-30040-7 | access-date = 10 January 2021 | quote = [...] Witt soon became an active content creator with no intermediary needed. He started blogging in 2003 [...].}}

Politicians use social media to spread their messages and influence voters.{{cite journal |last1=Leyva |first1=Rodolfo |title=Exploring UK Millennials' Social Media Consumption Patterns and Participation in Elections, Activism, and "Slacktivism" |journal=Social Science Computer Review |date=August 2017 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=462–479 |doi=10.1177/0894439316655738 |s2cid=62913580 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0894439316655738}}

Dounoucos et al. reported that Twitter use by candidates was unprecedented during the US 2016 election.{{cite journal |last1=Dounoucos |first1=Victoria A. |last2=Hillygus |first2=D. Sunshine |last3=Carlson |first3=Caroline |date=2019 |title=The Message and the Medium: An Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of Twitter Commentary on Campaign Messages |journal=Journal of Information Technology and Politics |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=66–76 |doi=10.1080/19331681.2019.1572566 |s2cid=150478043}}{{cite book |last=Richardson |first=Glenn W. Jr. |title=Social Media and Politics: A New Way to Participate in the Political Process |date=2016-11-21 |publisher=Praeger |volume=1}} The public increased its reliance on social-media sites for political information. In the European Union, social media amplified political messages.{{cite journal |last1=Barisione |first1=Mauro |last2=Michailidou |first2=Asimina |date=2017 |title=Do We Need to Rethink EU Politics in the Social Media Era? An Introduction to the Volume |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/978-1-137-59890-5_1 |journal=Social Media and European Politics |series=Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology |publisher=Palgrave |pages=1–23 |doi=10.1057/978-1-137-59890-5_1 |isbn=978-1-137-59889-9}} Foreign-originated social-media campaigns attempt to influence political opinion in another country.{{cite tweet |number=1316367319426306049 |user=sidowen5 |title=Twitter trend in #SaudiArabia saw thousands of tweets on #HillaryEmails from supporters of Crown Prince MBS. Strange that Riyadh's social marketing firm, SMAAT is involved in another such campaign. Didn't see this coming from any country other than Russia. https://t.co/FASoLPXN1r |author=Pragmatic Grizzly |date=October 14, 2020 |access-date=December 8, 2022 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514021440/https://twitter.com/sidowen5/status/1316367319426306049 |archive-date=May 14, 2022 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Paul |first=Katie |date=2019-12-20 |title=Twitter suspends accounts linked to Saudi spying case |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-saudi-idUSKBN1YO1JT |access-date=20 October 2019 |website=Reuters}}

{{See also|Social media and the Arab Spring}}

Social media was influential in the Arab Spring in 2011.{{cite news |url= https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/01/tunisia/ |magazine= Wired |first1= Nate |last1= Anderson |first2= Ars |last2= Technica |title= Tweeting Tyrants Out of Tunisia: Global Internet at Its Best |date= January 14, 2011}}{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/world/middleeast/10youth.html?_r=1 |work= The New York Times |first= David D. |last= Kirkpatrick |title= Wired and Shrewd, Young Egyptians Guide Revolt |date= February 9, 2011}}{{cite web|url= http://www.miller-mccune.com/politics/the-cascading-effects-of-the-arab-spring-28575/|last=Howard|first=Philip N.|title= The Arab Uprising's Cascading Effects |publisher= Miller-mccune.com |date= February 23, 2011 |access-date= 2012-04-24 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110227051329/http://www.miller-mccune.com/politics/the-cascading-effects-of-the-arab-spring-28575/ |archive-date= 2011-02-27 }}{{sfn|Rainie|Wellman|2012|p=207|ps=:Social media - Facebook, Twitter, and email - plus mobile phones played a major part in the 'Arab Spring' of protests and rebellions against authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa throughout 2011. The activity of networked individuals in Tunisia, Egypt, and other states was a prime example of how online content creation and community building, in tandem with offline gatherings and backstage maneuvering, can aid mass mobilizations.}} However, debate persists about the extent to which social media facilitated this.{{Cite journal|last=Gladwell|first=Malcolm|date=March 1, 2011|title=Malcolm Gladwell and Clay Shirky on Social Media and Revolution, Foreign Affairs March/April 2011|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67325/malcolm-gladwell-and-clay-shirky/from-innovation-to-revolution|journal=Foreign Affairs|volume=90 |issue=March/April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201165430/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67325/malcolm-gladwell-and-clay-shirky/from-innovation-to-revolution|archive-date=2011-02-01|access-date=2012-04-24}} Activists have used social media to report the abuse of human rights in Bahrain. They publicized the brutality of government authorities, who they claimed were detaining, torturing and threatening individuals. Conversely, Bahrain's government used social media to track and target activists. The government stripped citizenship from over 1,000 activists as punishment.{{cite web|url=http://nycfpa.org/main/bahrains-social-media-problem-the-governments-online-to-real-life-attack-on-human-rights/|title=Bahrain's Social Media Problem: The Government's Online to Real Life Attack on Human Rights|last=Minoff|first=Aaron|access-date=13 May 2021|website=New York Center For Foreign Policy Affairs|date=13 May 2021}}

Militant groups use social media as an organizing and recruiting tool.{{cite journal |last1= Shirky |first1= Clay |title= Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change |journal= Foreign Affairs |volume= 90 |issue= 1 |url= https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2010-12-20/political-power-social-media |access-date= 2018-08-04 |date= 2011 }} Islamic State (also known as ISIS) used social media. In 2014, #AllEyesonISIS went viral on Arabic X.P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking. Like War: The Weaponization of Social Media. Houghton Mifflin, NY, 2018.{{cite web|last=Ajbaili|first=Mustapha|title= How ISIS conquered social media |date= June 24, 2014 |url= http://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/digital/2014/06/24/How-has-ISIS-conquered-social-media-.html |publisher= Al Arabiya News|access-date=2022-08-29}}

{{Excerpt|State-sponsored Internet propaganda}}

{{Excerpt|Social media use in hiring}}

Scientists use social media to share their scientific knowledge and research on platforms such as ResearchGate, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Academia.edu.{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1038/s41556-018-0253-6|title = Social media for scientists|journal = Nature Cell Biology|year = 2018|volume = 20|issue = 12|page = 1329|pmid = 30482942|s2cid = 53744344|doi-access = free}} The most common platforms are X and blogs. The use of social media reportedly has improved the interaction between scientists, reporters, and the general public.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} Over 495,000 opinions were shared on X related to science between September 1, 2010, and August 31, 2011.{{cite journal|title=Building Buzz: (Scientists) Communicating Science in New Media Environments|last1=Liang|first1=Xuan|last2=Su|first2=Leona Yi-Fan|last3=Yeo|first3=Sara K.|last4=Scheufele|first4=Dietram A.|last5=Brossard|first5=Dominique|last6=Xenos|first6=Michael|last7=Nealey|first7=Paul|last8=Corley|first8=Elizabeth A.|date=2014-09-12|doi=10.1177/1077699014550092|journal=Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly|volume=91|issue=4|pages=772–791|s2cid=56369654 }} Science related blogs respond to and motivate public interest in learning, following, and discussing science. Posts can be written quickly and allow the reader to interact in real time with authors.{{Cite book|url=https://www.nap.edu/read/23674/chapter/6|doi = 10.17226/23674|title = Communicating Science Effectively|year = 2017|pmid = 28406600|isbn = 978-0-309-45102-4|last1 = National Academies Of Sciences|first1 = Engineering|author2 = Division of Behavioral Social Sciences Education|author3 = Committee on the Science of Science Communication: A Research Agenda}} One study in the context of climate change reported that climate scientists and scientific institutions played a minimal role in online debate, exceeded by nongovernmental organizations.{{cite journal|url=https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcc.191|title=Online communication on climate change and climate politics: a literature review|last=Schäfer|first=Mike S.|date=2012-09-13|journal=WIREs Climate Change|volume=3|issue=6|pages=527–543|doi=10.1002/wcc.191|bibcode=2012WIRCC...3..527S |s2cid=53320112 }}

Academicians use social media activity to assess academic publications,{{Cite journal|last1=Haustein|first1=Stefanie|year=2016|title=Grand challenges in altmetrics: Heterogeneity, data quality and dependencies|journal=Scientometrics|volume=108|pages=413–423|arxiv=1603.04939|bibcode=2016arXiv160304939H|doi=10.1007/s11192-016-1910-9|s2cid=2169363}} to measure public sentiment,{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Y |last2=Lin |first2=N |last3=Batcheller |first3=Q |last4=Zhou |first4=Q |last5=Anderson |first5=J |last6=An |first6=R |title=Sentiment Analysis of Tweets on Menu Labeling Regulations in the US. |journal=Nutrients |date=6 October 2023 |volume=15 |issue=19 |page=4269 |doi=10.3390/nu15194269 |pmid=37836553 |pmc=10574510 |doi-access=free }} identify influencer accounts,{{cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=C |last2=McIntire |first2=R |last3=Anderson |first3=JM |last4=Stewart |first4=C |last5=McIntosh |first5=H |last6=Cornwell |first6=J |last7=Barron |first7=K |title=The top sports medicine influencers on X (formerly Twitter). |journal=Journal of Sports Sciences |date=18 September 2023 |volume=42 |issue=24 |pages=2261–2266 |doi=10.1080/02640414.2023.2259723 |pmid=37722817|s2cid=262055851 }} or crowdsource ideas or solutions.{{cite journal |last1=Mondal |first1=H |last2=Parvanov |first2=ED |last3=Singla |first3=RK |last4=Rayan |first4=RA |last5=Nawaz |first5=FA |last6=Ritschl |first6=V |last7=Eibensteiner |first7=F |last8=Siva Sai |first8=C |last9=Cenanovic |first9=M |last10=Devkota |first10=HP |last11=Hribersek |first11=M |last12=De |first12=R |last13=Klager |first13=E |last14=Kletecka-Pulker |first14=M |last15=Völkl-Kernstock |first15=S |last16=Khalid |first16=GM |last17=Lordan |first17=R |last18=Găman |first18=MA |last19=Shen |first19=B |last20=Stamm |first20=T |last21=Willschke |first21=H |last22=Atanasov |first22=AG |title=Twitter-based crowdsourcing: What kind of measures can help to end the COVID-19 pandemic faster? |journal=Frontiers in Medicine |date=2022 |volume=9 |pages=961360 |doi=10.3389/fmed.2022.961360 |pmid=36186802 |pmc=9523003 |doi-access=free }} Social media such as Facebook, X are also combined to predict elections via sentiment analysis.{{Cite journal|last1=Chauhan|first1=P.|last2=Sharna|first2=N.|last3=Sikka|first3=G.|date=6 August 2020|title=The emergence of social media data and sentiment analysis in election prediction|url=|journal=Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing|series=|volume=12|issue=2|pages=2601–2627|doi= 10.1007/s12652-020-02423-y|issn=}} Additional social media (e.g. YouTube, Google Trends) can be combined to reach a wider segment of the voting population, minimise media-specific bias, and inexpensively estimate electoral predictions which are on average half of a percentage point off the real vote share.{{Cite journal|last1=Franch |first1= F.|date=26 February 2013|title=(Wisdom of the Crowds)^2: 2010 UK election prediction with social media|url=https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/eee82bec-6389-4d22-a0b1-8ce4c687b4fd/download|journal=Journal of Information Technology & Politics|series=|volume=10|issue=1|pages=57–71|doi=10.1080/19331681.2012.705080|issn=1933-169X}}

In some places, students have been forced to surrender their social media passwords to school administrators.{{Cite web |url=https://www.aclu-mn.org/news/2012/03/06/aclu-mn-files-lawsuit-against-minnewaska-area-schools |title=ACLU-MN Files Lawsuit Against Minnewaska Area Schools |publisher=ACLU Minnesota |access-date=2022-08-29|date=2012-03-06}} Few laws protect student's social media privacy. Organizations such as the ACLU call for more privacy protection. They urge students who are pressured to give up their account information to resist.{{Cite news |url=https://www.aclu.org/other/employers-schools-and-social-networking-privacy |title=Employers, Schools, and Social Networking Privacy |publisher=American Civil Liberties Union |access-date=2016-11-30}}

Colleges and universities may access applicants' internet services including social media profiles as part of their admissions process. According to Kaplan, Inc, a corporation that provides higher education preparation, in 2012 27% of admissions officers used Google to learn more about an applicant, with 26% checking Facebook.{{cite web |url=http://press.kaptest.com/press-releases/kaplan-test-prep-survey-more-college-admissions-officers-checking-applicants-digital-trails-but-most-students-unconcerned/ |title=Kaplan Test Prep Survey: More College Admissions Officers Checking Applicants' Digital Trails, But Most Students Unconcerned|publisher=Kaplan Test|date=October 31, 2013|access-date=2022-08-29}} Students whose social media pages include questionable material may be disqualified from admission processes.

"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. This includes 8 percent of public institutions, where the First Amendment applies. The survey reported that 30 percent of institutions acknowledged reviewing the personal social media accounts of applicants at least some of the time."{{Cite web|title=The First Amendment, Social Media and College Admissions|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/views/2021/12/13/admissions-officials-need-pay-attention-first-amendment-opinion|last=LoMonte|first=Frank|date=2021-12-13|publisher=Inside Higher Ed|language=en-US}}

Social media comments and images have been used in court cases including employment law, child custody/child support, and disability claims. After an Apple employee criticized his employer on Facebook, he was fired. When the former employee sued Apple for unfair dismissal, the court, after examining the employee's Facebook posts, reported in favor of Apple, stating that the posts breached Apple's policies.{{cite web |url=https://www.blogherald.com/2017/08/24/5-court-cases-social-media-played-part/ |title=5 Court Cases Where Social Media Played a Part|date=August 24, 2017 |website=Blog Herald |access-date=2018-10-27 }} After a couple broke up, the man posted song lyrics "that talked about fantasies of killing the rapper's ex-wife" and made threats. A court reported him guilty.{{Clarify|reason=Guilty of what?|date=May 2024}} In a disability claims case, a woman who fell at work claimed that she was permanently injured; the employer used her social media posts to counter her claims.{{Additional citations needed|date=November 2024}}

Courts do not always admit social media evidence, in part, because screenshots can be faked or tampered with.{{cite web |url=https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/author/elizabeth-raymer/the-social-media-evidence-is-clear-16126/ |title=The (social media) evidence is clear |last=Raymer |first=Elizabeth |date=September 24, 2018 |website=www.canadianlawyermag.com |publisher=Canadian Lawyer |access-date=2018-10-27 }} Judges may consider emojis into account to assess statements made on social media; in one Michigan case where a person alleged that another person had defamed them in an online comment, the judge disagreed, noting that an emoji after the comment that indicated that it was a joke. In a 2014 case in Ontario against a police officer regarding alleged assault of a protester during the G20 summit, the court rejected the Crown's application to use a digital photo of the protest that was anonymously posted online, because it included no metadata verifying its provenance.{{Additional citations needed|date=November 2024}}

On April 9, 2024, the Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota and Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin have sued social media companies (Meta Platforms-Facebook, Instagram; Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and Google) companies accused of ‘deliberate misconduct’. 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.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-09 |title=Two tribal nations sue social media companies over Native youth suicides |url=https://apnews.com/article/social-media-native-youth-suicide-lawsuit-9e73288a29c748e7888129fc80404f6f |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=AP News |language=en}}{{Additional citations needed|date=November 2024}}

{{Excerpt|Social media as a news source}}

Social media are used to socialize with friends and family{{cite journal |last1=Aichner |first1=T. |last2=Grünfelder |first2=M. |last3=Maurer |first3=O. |last4=Jegeni |first4=D. |year=2021 |title=Twenty-Five Years of Social Media: A Review of Social Media Applications and Definitions from 1994 to 2019 |journal=Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=215–222 |doi=10.1089/cyber.2020.0134 |pmid=33847527 |pmc=8064945 |doi-access=free }} pursue romance and flirt, but not all social needs can be fulfilled by social media.{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Z. |last2=Tchernev |first2=J. M. |last3=Solloway |first3=T. |year=2012 |title=A dynamic longitudinal examination of social media use, needs, and gratifications among college students |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=1829–1839 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.001 |s2cid=639979 }} For example, a 2003 article reported that lonely individuals are more likely to use the Internet for emotional support than others.{{cite journal |last1=Morahan-Martin |first1=J. |last2=Schumacher |first2=P. |year=2003 |title=Loneliness and social uses of the internet |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=659–671 |doi=10.1016/S0747-5632(03)00040-2 |s2cid=16933593 }} A 2018 survey from Common Sense Media reported that 40% of American teens ages 13–17 thought that social media was "extremely" or "very" important for them to connect with their friends. The same survey reported that 33% of teens said social media was extremely or very important to conduct meaningful conversations with close friends, and 23% of teens said social media was extremely or very important to document and share their lives.{{Cite web|last1=Rideout|first1=Vicky|last2=Robb|first2=Michael B.|date=2018|title=Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences, 2018|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/social-media-social-life-2018|website=Common Sense Media}} A 2020 Gallup poll reported that 53% of adult social media users in the United States thought that social media was a very or moderately important way to keep in touch with people during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Ritter|first=Zacc|date=May 21, 2020|title=Americans Use Social Media for COVID-19 Info, Connection|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/311360/americans-social-media-covid-information-connection.aspx|website=Gallup}}

In Alone Together Sherry Turkle considered how people confuse social media usage with authentic communication. She claimed that people act differently online and are less concerned about hurting others' feelings. Some online encounters can cause stress and anxiety, due to the difficulty purging online posts, fear of getting hacked, or of universities and employers exploring social media pages. Turkle speculated that many people prefer texting to face-to-face communication, which can contribute to loneliness.{{cite book |author=Turkle, S. |year=2012 |title=Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other |location=New York, NY |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-03146-7}} Surveys from 2019 reported evidence among teens in the United States and Mexico.{{Cite web|last1=Robb|first1=Michael B.|last2=Bay|first2=Willow|last3=Vennegaard|first3=Tina|date=2019-10-01|title=The New Normal: Parents, Teens, and Mobile Devices in Mexico|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-new-normal-parents-teens-and-devices-around-the-world|website=Common Sense Media}} Some researchers reported that exchanges that involved direct communication and reciprocal messages correlated with less loneliness.{{Cite book |last1=Burke |first1=Moira |last2=Kraut |first2=Robert |last3=Marlow |first3=Cameron |title=Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems |chapter=Social capital on facebook |s2cid=8060040 |year=2011 |volume=7–9 |pages=571–580 |doi=10.1145/1978942.1979023 |isbn=978-1-4503-0228-9 |url=http://www.cameronmarlow.com/media/burke-2011-social.pdf |access-date=2016-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129071100/http://www.cameronmarlow.com/media/burke-2011-social.pdf |archive-date=2015-11-29 |url-status=dead }}

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.{{cite web |url= https://www.lifewire.com/what-does-creeping-mean-2655280|title=The Ins and Outs of Facebook Creeping|last=Walker |first=Leslie |date=October 23, 2016 |website=www.lifewire.com |publisher=Lifewire |access-date=2018-11-12 }} A sub-category of creeping is creeping ex-partners after a breakup.{{cite web |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/better-living-technology/201402/why-exes-arent-so-ex-anymore |title=Why Exes Aren't So "Ex" Anymore |last=Fox |first=Jesse |date=February 26, 2014 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |publisher=Psychology Today |access-date=2018-11-12}}

Catfishing (creating a false identity) allows bad actors to exploit the lonely.{{cite book|title=Choices & Connections|last1=McCormack|first1=Steven|last2=Ortiz|first2=Joseph|date=2017|edition=second}}

Self-presentation theory proposes that people consciously manage their self-image or identity related information in social contexts.{{Cite book|last=Goffman|first=Erving|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3091353|title=The presentation of self in everyday life|date=1971|publisher=Penguin|isbn=0-14-021350-3|location=Harmondsworth|oclc=3091353}} One aspect of social media is the time invested in customizing a personal profile.{{Cite news|title=Children, Teens, Media, and Body Image|language=en|website=Common Sense Media|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/children-teens-media-and-body-image|access-date=2017-12-03|archive-date=2020-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602201917/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/children-teens-media-and-body-image|url-status=dead}} Some users segment their audiences based on the image they want to present, pseudonymity and use of multiple accounts on the same platform offer that opportunity.{{Cite journal|last=van der Nagel|first=Emily|date=2017-09-02|title=From usernames to profiles: the development of pseudonymity in Internet communication|journal=Internet Histories|volume=1|issue=4|pages=312–331|doi=10.1080/24701475.2017.1389548|s2cid=218589874|issn=2470-1475}}

A 2016 study reported that teenage girls manipulate their self-presentation on social media to appear beautiful as viewed by their peers.{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011 |title=Follow me and like my beautiful selfies: Singapore teenage girls' engagement in self-presentation and peer comparison on social media |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |volume=55 |pages=190–7 |year=2016 |last1=Chua |first1=Trudy Hui Hui |last2=Chang |first2=Leanne |s2cid=17487816 }} Teenage girls attempt to earn regard and acceptance (likes, comments, and shares). When this does not go well, self-confidence and self-satisfaction can decline. A 2018 survey of American teens ages 13–17 by Common Sense Media reported that 45% said likes are at least somewhat important, and 26% at least somewhat agreed that they feel bad about themselves if nobody responds to their photos. Some evidence suggests that perceived rejection may lead to emotional pain,{{cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Gina Masullo|year=2015|title=Losing Face on Social Media|journal=Communication Research|volume=42|issue=6|pages=819–38|doi=10.1177/0093650213510937|s2cid=28015890}} and some may resort to online bullying.{{cite book|title=Cyberbullying: Bullying in the Digital Age|last1=Kowalski|first1=Robin M.|last2=Limber|first2=Susan P.|last3=Agatston|first3=Patricia W.|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2012}} according to a 2016 study, users' reward circuits in their brains are more active when their photos are liked by more peers.{{Cite journal |last1=Sherman |first1=Lauren E. |last2=Payton |first2=Ashley A. |last3=Hernandez |first3=Leanna M. |last4=Greenfield |first4=Patricia M. |last5=Dapretto |first5=Mirella |date=July 2016 |title=The Power of the Like in Adolescence: Effects of Peer Influence on Neural and Behavioral Responses to Social Media |journal=Psychological Science |language=en |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=1027–1035 |doi=10.1177/0956797616645673 |pmid=27247125 |pmc=5387999 |issn=0956-7976}}

A 2016 review concluded that social media can trigger a negative feedback loop of viewing and uploading photos, self-comparison, disappointment, and disordered body perception when social success is not achieved.{{Cite journal|last1=Holland|first1=G.|last2=Tiggerman|first2=M.|date=2016|title=A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298794212|journal=Body Image|volume=17|pages=101–109|doi=10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008|pmid=26995158}} One 2016 study reported that Pinterest is directly associated with disordered dieting behavior.{{Cite journal|last1=Lewallen|first1=Jennifer|last2=Behm-Morawitz|first2=Elizabeth|date=March 30, 2016|title=Pinterest or Thinterest?: Social Comparison and Body Image on Social Media|journal=Social Media + Society|language=en|volume=2|issue=1|page=205630511664055|doi=10.1177/2056305116640559|doi-access=free}}

People portray themselves on social media in the most appealing way. However, upon seeing one person's curated persona, other people may question why their own lives are not as exciting or fulfilling. One 2017 study reported that problematic social media use (i.e., feeling addicted to social media) was related to lower life satisfaction and self-esteem.{{cite journal |last1=Hawi |first1=N.S. |last2=Samaha |first2=M. |year=2017 |title=The Relations Among Social Media Addiction, Self-Esteem, and Life Satisfaction in University Students |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306048463 |journal=Social Science Computer Review |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=576–586 |doi=10.1177/0894439316660340 |s2cid=64367207}} Studies have reported that social media comparisons can have dire effects on physical and mental health.{{Cite journal |last1=Stefanone |first1=M.A. |last2=Lackaff |first2=D. |last3=Rosen |first3=D. |date=2011 |title=Contingencies of Self-Worth and Social-Networking-Site Behavior |url=http://www.buffalo.edu/content/dam/cas/communication/files/Stefanone/Stefanone_cyberpsych.2011.pdf |journal=Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking |volume=14 |issue=1–2 |pages=41–9 |doi=10.1089/cyber.2010.0049 |pmid=21329442 |s2cid=8585314 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2152/41152}}{{Cite news |last=Criddle |first=Cristina |date=2021-01-27 |title=Social media damages teenagers' mental health, report says |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55826238 |access-date=2021-01-28 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} In one study, women reported that social media was the most influential source of their body image satisfaction; while men reported them as the second biggest factor.{{cite web |last1=Blackford |first1=Meghan |title=#bodypositive: A Look at Body Image & Social Media |url=https://fherehab.com/news/bodypositive/ |access-date=5 October 2020 |website=FHE Health}} 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.

A 2021 study reported that 87% of women and 65% of men compared themselves to others on social media.{{cite web |title=Link between social media and body image |url=https://online.king.edu/news/social-media-and-body-image/ |access-date=15 May 2021 |publisher=FHE Health}}

Efforts to combat such negative effects focused promoting body positivity. In a related study, women aged 18–30 were reported posts that contained side-by-side images of women in the same clothes and setting, but one image was enhanced for Instagram, while the other was an unedited, "realistic" version. Women who participated in this experiment reported a decrease in body dissatisfaction.{{cite journal |last1=Tiggemann |first1=Marika |last2=Anderberg |first2=Isabella |date=2019-11-16 |title=Social media is not real: The effect of 'Instagram vs reality' images on women's social comparison and body image |journal=New Media & Society |volume=22 |issue=12 |pages=2183–2199 |doi=10.1177/1461444819888720 |s2cid=210505708 |doi-access=free}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}

{{Further|Cyberpsychology#Social media and cyberpsychological behavior|Social media and identity}}

Social media can offer a support system for adolescent health, because it allows them to mobilize around health issues that they deem relevant.{{Cite journal |last1=Patton |first1=George C. |last2=Sawyer |first2=Susan M. |last3=Santelli |first3=John S. |last4=Ross |first4=David A. |last5=Afifi |first5=Rima |last6=Allen |first6=Nicholas B. |last7=Arora |first7=Monika |last8=Azzopardi |first8=Peter |last9=Baldwin |first9=Wendy |date=June 2016 |title=Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing |journal=The Lancet |volume=387 |issue=10036 |pages=2423–2478 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(16)00579-1 |issn=0140-6736 |pmc=5832967 |pmid=27174304}} For example, in a clinical study among adolescent patients undergoing obesity treatment, participants' claimed that social media allowed them to access personalized weight-loss content as well as social support among other adolescents with obesity.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1177/1460458218759699|pmid = 29499615|title = Health literacy in a complex digital media landscape: Pediatric obesity patients' experiences with online weight, food, and health information|journal = Health Informatics Journal|volume = 25|issue = 4|pages = 1343–1357|year = 2018|last1 = Holmberg|first1 = Christopher|last2 = Berg|first2 = Christina|last3 = Dahlgren|first3 = Jovanna|last4 = Lissner|first4 = Lauren|last5 = Chaplin|first5 = John Eric|s2cid = 3687773}}{{cite web |title=media and eating disorders |date=5 October 2017 |url=https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/media-eating-disorders|publisher=National Eating Disorder Association|access-date=15 May 2021}}

While social media can provide health information, it typically has no mechanism for ensuring the quality of that information. The National Eating Disorders Association reported a high correlation between weight loss content and disorderly eating among women who have been influenced by inaccurate content.{{cite journal |last1=Holmberg |first1=Christopher |last2=Berg |first2=Christina |last3=Hillman |first3=Thomas |last4=Lissner |first4=Lauren |last5=Chaplin |first5=John |year=2018 |title=Self-presentation in digital media among adolescent patients with obesity: Striving for integrity, risk-reduction, and social recognition |journal=Digit Health |volume=4 |doi=10.1177/2055207618807603 |pmc=6195003 |pmid=30349733}} Health literacy offers skills to allow users to spot/avoid such content. Efforts by governments and public health organizations to advance health literacy reportedly achieved limited success.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1017/dmp.2020.404|pmid = 33089770|title = The Structure of Tweets about Vaccine Safety Between Health Organizations, Experts and the Public: Analyzing Risk Communication Conversations|journal = Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness|volume = 25|issue = 4|pages = 1343–1357|year = 2018|last1 = Manheim|first1 = David|last2 = Gesser-Edelsburg|first2 = Anat|pmc = 7943953|doi-access = free}} 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Mabaso |first1=Wakithi Siza |last2=Hein |first2=Sascha |last3=Pavarini |first3=Gabriela |last4=The OxWell Study Team |last5=Fazel |first5=Mina |date=2024-12-17 |title=Exploring the Relationship Between Public Social Media Accounts, Adolescent Mental Health, and Parental Guidance in England: Large Cross-Sectional School Survey Study |journal=Journal of Medical Internet Research |language=en |volume=26 |pages=e57154 |doi=10.2196/57154 |doi-access=free |issn=1438-8871 |pmc=11688589 |pmid=39688898}}

Social media such as pro-anorexia sites reportedly increase risk of harm by reinforcing damaging health-related behaviors through social media, especially among adolescents.{{cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=Jenny|last2=Peebles|first2=Rebecka|date=December 2006|title=Surfing for thinness: A pilot study of pro-eating disorder web site usage in adolescents with eating disorders|journal=Pediatrics|volume=118|issue=6|pages=e1635–e1643|doi=10.1542/peds.2006-1133|pmid=17142493|last3=Hardy|first3=KK|last4=Litt|first4=IF|last5=Wilson |first5=J L|s2cid=22277352}}{{cite journal|first1=Danielle C|last1=Ransom|first2=Jennifer G|last2=La Guardia|first3=Erik Z|last3=Woody|first4=Jennifer L|last4=Boyd|title=Interpersonal interactions on online forums addressing eating concerns|journal=International Journal of Eating Disorders|volume=43|issue=2|pages=161–170|year=2010|doi=10.1002/eat.20629|pmid=19308991|s2cid=31581815 }}{{cite web|title=Eating Disorders and the Internet |url=http://www.anad.org/get-information/eating-disorders-and-the-internet/ |publisher=National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders |access-date=2010-09-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019032231/http://www.anad.org/get-information/eating-disorders-and-the-internet/ |archive-date=2010-10-19 }}

During the coronavirus pandemic, inaccurate information from all sides spread widely via social media.{{Cite journal |last1=Rocha |first1=Yasmim Mendes |last2=de Moura |first2=Gabriel Acácio |last3=Desidério |first3=Gabriel Alves |last4=de Oliveira |first4=Carlos Henrique |last5=Lourenço |first5=Francisco Dantas |last6=de Figueiredo Nicolete |first6=Larissa Deadame |date=2023 |title=The impact of fake news on social media and its influence on health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review |journal=Journal of Public Health |language=en |volume=31 |issue=7 |pages=1007–1016 |doi=10.1007/s10389-021-01658-z |issn=2198-1833 |pmc=8502082 |pmid=34660175}} Topics subject to distortion included treatments, avoiding infection, vaccination, and public policy. Simultaneously, governments and others influenced social media platforms to suppress both accurate and inaccurate information in support of public policy.{{Cite news |last=Oremus |first=Will |date=2022-10-09 |title=How social media 'censorship' became a front line in the culture war |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/09/social-media-content-moderation/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}} Heavier social media use was reportedly associated with more acceptance of conspiracy theories, leading to worse mental health{{cite journal|title=Belief in a COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory as a Predictor of Mental Health and Well-Being of Health Care Workers in Ecuador: Cross-Sectional Survey Study|last1=Chen|first1=Xi|last2=Zhang|first2=Stephen X.|last3=Jahanshahi|first3=Asghar Afshar|last4=Alvarez-Risco|first4=Aldo|last5=Dai|first5=Huiyang|last6=Li|first6=Jizhen|last7=García Ibarra|first7=Verónica|journal=JMIR Public Health and Surveillance|year=2020|volume=6|number=3|page=e20737|doi=10.2196/20737|pmid=32658859|pmc=7375774 |doi-access=free }} and less compliance with public health recommendations.{{cite journal|title=Social media use as a predictor of handwashing during a pandemic: evidence from COVID-19 in Malaysia|last1=Zhang|first1=Stephen X.|last2=Graf-Vlachy|first2=Lorenz|last3=Kim|first3=Hoe Looi|last4=Su|first4=Rui|last5=Li|first5=Jizhen|journal=Epidemiology and Infection|year=2020|volume=148|page=e261|doi=10.1017/S0950268820002575|pmid=33092675 |pmc=7653491 }}

Social media platforms can serve as a breeding ground for addiction-related behaviors, with studies report that excessive use can lead to addiction-like symptoms. These symptoms include compulsive checking, mood modification, and withdrawal when not using social media, which can result in decreased face-to-face social interactions and contribute to the deterioration of interpersonal relationships and a sense of loneliness.{{cite journal|title=Meta-analyses of comparative efficacy of antidepressant medications on peripheral BDNF concentration in patients with depression|last1=Chanjuan|first1=Zhou|last2=Jiaju|first2=Zhong|last3=Bin|first3=Zou|last4=Liang|first4=Fang|last5=Jianjun|first5=Chen|last6=Xiao|first6=Deng|last7=Lin|first7=Zhang|last8=Xiang|first8=Zhao|last9=Zehui|first9=Qu|last10=Yang|first10=Lei|last11=Ting|first11= Lei|journal= PLOS ONE|year=2017|volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=e0172270 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0172270|pmid=28241064|pmc=5328267 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1272270Z |doi-access=free }}

{{Excerpt|Cyberbullying}}

A 2017 study reported on a link between sleep disturbance and the use of social media. It concluded that blue light from computer/phone displays—and the frequency rather than the duration of time spent, predicted disturbed sleep, termed "obsessive 'checking{{'"}}.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns|title=Is social media bad for you? The evidence and the unknowns|last=Brown|first=Jessica|language=en|access-date=2018-06-13|publisher=BBC}} The association between social media use and sleep disturbance has clinical ramifications for young adults.{{Cite journal|journal=Preventative Meditation|last1=Levenson|first1=Jessica|last2=Shensa|first2=Ariel|last3=Sidani|first3=Jaime E.|last4=Colditz|first4=Jason B.|last5=Primack|first5=Brian A.|date=April 2016|title=The association between social media use and sleep disturbance among young adults |volume=85|pages=36–41|doi=10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.01.001|pmid=26791323 |pmc=4857587 }} A recent study reported that people in the highest quartile for weekly social media use experienced the most sleep disturbance. The median number of minutes of social media use per day was 61. Females were more likely to experience high levels of sleep disturbance.{{Cite journal|last1=Levenson|first1=Jessica C.|last2=Shensa|first2=Ariel|last3=Sidani|first3=Jaime E.|last4=Colditz|first4=Jason B.|last5=Primack|first5=Brian A.|date=April 2016|title=The Association Between Social Media Use and Sleep Disturbance Among Young Adults|journal=Preventive Medicine|volume=85|pages=36–41|pmc=4857587|pmid=26791323|doi=10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.01.001}} Many teenagers suffer from sleep deprivation from long hours at night on their phones, and this left them tired and unfocused in school.{{cite news |last1=Ritcher |first1=Ruthann |title=Among teens, sleep deprivation an epidemic |url=https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/10/among-teens-sleep-deprivation-an-epidemic.html |access-date=14 November 2020 |work=News Center |publisher=Stanford School of Medicine |date=October 2015 |language=en}} A 2011 study reported that time spent on Facebook was negatively associated with GPA, but the association with sleep disturbance was not established.{{Cite journal|last=Junco|first=Reynol|date=September 2011|title=Too Much Face and Not Enough Books |journal=Computers in Human Behavior|volume=28|pages=187–198|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2011.08.026|s2cid=17799159 }}

One studied effect of social media is 'Facebook depression', which affects adolescents who spend too much time on social media. This may lead to reclusiveness, which can increase loneliness and low self-esteem.{{cite journal|last1=Schurgin O'Keeffe|first1=Gwenn|last2=Clarke-Pearson|first2=Kathleen|title=The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families|date=2011|volume=127|issue=4|pages=800–804|doi=10.1542/peds.2011-0054|journal=Pediatrics|pmid=21444588 |s2cid=56801712 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21444588/}} Social media curates content to encourage users to keep scrolling. Studies report children's self-esteem is positively affected by positive comments and negatively affected by negative or lack of comments. This affected self-perception.{{cite book |last1=Seymour |title=Successes and setbacks of social media: impact on academic life |year=2021 |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |isbn=978-1-119-69523-3 |pages=132}} A 2017 study of almost 6,000 adolescent students reported that those who self-reported addiction-like symptoms of social media use were more likely to report low self-esteem and high levels of depressive symptoms.{{Cite journal|last1=Bányai|first1=Fanni|last2=Zsila|first2=Ágnes|last3=Király|first3=Orsolya|last4=Maraz|first4=Aniko|last5=Elekes|first5=Zsuzsanna|last6=Griffiths|first6=Mark D.|last7=Andreassen|first7=Cecilie Schou|last8=Demetrovics|first8=Zsolt|date=January 9, 2017|title=Problematic Social Media Use: Results from a Large-Scale Nationally Representative Adolescent Sample|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=12|issue=1|pages=e0169839|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0169839|pmid=28068404|pmc=5222338|issn=1932-6203|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1269839B|doi-access=free}}

A second emotional effect is social media burnout, defined as ambivalence, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. Ambivalence is confusion about the benefits from using social media. Emotional exhaustion is stress from using social media. Depersonalization is emotional detachment from social media. The three burnout factors negatively influence the likelihood of continuing on social media.{{cite journal |last1=Han |first1=Bo |year=2018 |title=Social Media Burnout: Definition, Measurement Instrument, and Why We Care |journal=Journal of Computer Information Systems |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1080/08874417.2016.1208064 |s2cid=67791822}}

A third emotional effect is "fear of missing out" (FOMO), which is the "pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent."{{cite journal|last1=Przybylski|first1=Andrew K.|last2=Murayama|first2=Kou|last3=DeHaan|first3=Cody R.|last4=Gladwell|first4=Valerie|year=2013|title=Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out|journal=Computers in Human Behavior|volume=29|issue=4|pages=1841–1848|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014|s2cid=12602767 }} It is associated with increased scrutiny of friends on social media.

Social media can also offer support as Twitter has done for the medical community.{{Cite journal|last1=Fuller|first1=Maren Y.|last2=Allen|first2=Timothy Craig|date=2016-09-01|title=Let's Have a Tweetup: The Case for Using Twitter Professionally|url=http://meridian.allenpress.com/aplm/article/140/9/956/196157/Lets-Have-a-Tweetup-The-Case-for-Using-Twitter|journal=Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine|language=en|volume=140|issue=9|pages=956–957|doi=10.5858/arpa.2016-0172-SA|pmid=27195434|issn=1543-2165|doi-access=free}} X facilitated academic discussion among health professionals and students, while providing a supportive community for these individuals by and allowing members to support each other through likes, comments, and posts.{{Cite journal|last1=Liu|first1=Lisa|last2=Woo|first2=Benjamin K P|date=2021-01-19|title=Twitter as a Mental Health Support System for Students and Professionals in the Medical Field|journal=JMIR Medical Education|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=e17598|doi=10.2196/17598|pmid=33464210|pmc=7854042|issn=2369-3762|doi-access=free}} 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Cotten |first1=Shelia R. |last2=Schuster |first2=Amy M. |last3=Seifert |first3=Alexander |date=2022-06-01 |title=Social media use and well-being among older adults |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X21002451 |journal=Current Opinion in Psychology |volume=45 |pages=101293 |doi=10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.12.005 |pmid=35065352 |s2cid=245302663 |issn=2352-250X}} In March 2025, a Pakistani man killed a WhatsApp group admin in anger after being removed from the chat.{{Cite news |date=2025-03-08 |title=Pakistani man kills WhatsApp group admin in anger after being removed from chat |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistani-man-kills-whatsapp-group-admin-in-anger-after-being-removed-from-chat/articleshow/118803475.cms |access-date=2025-03-08 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}

{{Excerpt|Social media and suicide}}

Media critic Siva Vaidhyanathan refers to social media as 'anti-social media' in reference to its negative impacts including on loneliness and political polarization. Audrey Tang also uses the term antisocial in reference to its impact on democracy.{{Cite web |last1=Kaufmann |first1=Bruno |last2=Glatthard |first2=Jonas |date=2021-05-07 |title='Humour over rumour': lessons from Taiwan in digital democracy |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/freedom-of-expression-humour-over-rumour-lessons-from-taiwan-in-digital-democracy/46592080 |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=SwissInfo |language=en-GB}}

{{Excerpt|Digital divide}}

{{See also|Social media#Threat to democracy|Media bias#social media|Rage-baiting}}Many critics point to studies showing social media algorithms elevate more partisan and inflammatory content.{{Cite news |date=April 1, 2021 |title=Facebook Disputes Claims It Fuels Political Polarization And Extremism |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/04/01/983155583/facebook-disputes-claims-it-fuels-political-polarization-and-extremism |work=NPR}}{{Cite news |date=July 27, 2023 |title=New study shows just how Facebook's algorithm shapes conservative and liberal bubbles |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190383104/new-study-shows-just-how-facebooks-algorithm-shapes-conservative-and-liberal-bub |work=NPR |quote=Still, the research sheds light on how Facebook's algorithm works. The studies found liberals and conservatives live in their own political news bubbles more so than elsewhere online. They also show that changing the platform's algorithm substantially changes what people see and how they behave on the site — even if it didn't affect their beliefs during the three-month period researchers studied...'This is interesting, strong evidence that when it comes to politics, the algorithm is biased towards the extremes,' Edelson said. 'This is genuinely new.'}} Because of recommendation algorithms that filter and display news content that matches users' political preferences, one potential impact is an increase in political polarization due to selective exposure. Political polarization is the divergence of political attitudes towards ideological extremes. Selective exposure occurs when an individual favors information that supports their beliefs and avoids information that conflicts with them.{{Cite web |last=Molla |first=Rani |date=2020-11-10 |title=Social media is making a bad political situation worse |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/21534345/polarization-election-social-media-filter-bubble |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=Vox |language=en-US}} Jonathan Haidt compared the impact of social media to the Tower of Babel and the chaos it unleashed as a result.{{Cite web |last=Ingram |first=Mathew |date=June 9, 2022 |title=Have the dangers of social media been overstated? |url=https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/have-the-dangers-of-social-media-been-overstated.php |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}}{{Cite magazine |last=Lewis-Kraus |first=Gideon |date=2022-06-03 |title=How Harmful Is Social Media? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/we-know-less-about-social-media-than-we-think |access-date=2024-10-09 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}

Aviv Ovadya argues that these algorithms incentivize the creation of divisive content in addition to promoting existing divisive content,{{Cite web |last=Ovadya |first=Aviv |date=May 17, 2022 |title=Bridging-Based Ranking |url=https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/bridging-based-ranking |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=Belfer Center at Harvard University |pages=3, 10–13 |language=en |quote=Chronological feeds are just 'recency-biased ranking' systems with their own problems...'Choose your own ranking systems' are not quite good enough}} but could be designed to reduce polarization instead.{{Cite web |last=Ovadya |first=Aviv |date=May 17, 2022 |title=Bridging-Based Ranking |url=https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/bridging-based-ranking |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University |pages=21–23, 28 |language=en}} 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.{{Cite news |last1=Merrill |first1=Jeremy B. |last2=Oremus |first2=Will |date=October 26, 2021 |title=Five points for anger, one for a 'like': How Facebook's formula fostered rage and misinformation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/26/facebook-angry-emoji-algorithm/ |newspaper=Washington Post}} Some popular ideas for how to combat selective exposure have had no or opposite impacts.{{Cite web |last=Klepper |first=David |date=2023-07-27 |title=Deep dive into Meta's algorithms shows that America's political polarization has no easy fix |url=https://apnews.com/article/facebook-instagram-polarization-misinformation-social-media-f0628066301356d70ad2eda2551ed260 |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=AP News |language=en |quote=When they replaced the algorithm with a simple chronological listing of posts from friends — an option Facebook recently made available to users — it had no measurable impact on polarization...Likewise, reducing the content that Facebook users get from accounts with the same ideological alignment had no significant effect on polarization, susceptibility to misinformation or extremist views.}}{{Cite journal |last1=Volfovsky |first1=Alexander |last2=Merhout |first2=Friedolin |last3=Mann |first3=Marcus |last4=Lee |first4=Jaemin |last5=Hunzaker |first5=M. B. Fallin |last6=Chen |first6=Haohan |last7=Bumpus |first7=John P. |last8=Brown |first8=Taylor W. |last9=Argyle |first9=Lisa P. |date=September 11, 2018 |title=Exposure to opposing views on social media can increase political polarization |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=115 |issue=37 |pages=9216–9221 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115.9216B |doi=10.1073/pnas.1804840115 |issn=1091-6490 |pmc=6140520 |pmid=30154168 |doi-access=free}} Some advocate for media literacy as a solution.{{Cite journal |last1=Mihailidis |first1=Paul |last2=Viotty |first2=Samantha |date=March 27, 2017 |title=Spreadable Spectacle in Digital Culture: Civic Expression, Fake News, and the Role of Media Literacies in "Post-Fact" Society |journal=American Behavioral Scientist |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=441–454 |doi=10.1177/0002764217701217 |issn=0002-7642 |s2cid=151950124}} Others argue that less social media, or more local journalism{{Cite web |date=2019-01-30 |title=Loss of newspapers contributes to political polarization |url=https://apnews.com/article/ecf440606c824f9d9671f2fb22a2ffce |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=AP News |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Thomas |date=May 21, 2021 |title=Study: Decline in local journalism increases political polarization |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/554824-study-decline-in-local-journalism-increases-political-polarization/ |work=The Hill}}{{Cite web |last1=Dunaway |first1=Johanna |last2=Darr |first2=Joshua P. |last3=Hitt |first3=Matthew P. |date=2021-05-27 |title=Local newspapers can help reduce polarization with opinion pages that focus on local issues |url=http://theconversation.com/local-newspapers-can-help-reduce-polarization-with-opinion-pages-that-focus-on-local-issues-158834 |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}} could help address political polarization.

{{See also|Stereotype}}

A 2018 study reported that social media increases the power of stereotypes.{{Cite journal|last1=Díaz-Fernández|first1=Antonio M.|last2=del-Real-Castrillo|first2=Cristina|date=July 1, 2018|title=Spies and security: Assessing the impact of animated videos on intelligence services in school children|journal=Comunicar|language=es|volume=26|issue=56|pages=81–89|doi=10.3916/c56-2018-08|issn=1134-3478|doi-access=free|hdl=10272/15122|hdl-access=free}} Stereotypes can have both negative and positive connotations. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth were accused of responsibility for spreading the disease.{{Cite web |title=Young adults, unfairly blamed for COVID-19 spread, now face stress and uncertain futures |url=https://beyond.ubc.ca/young-adults-blamed-for-covid/|last1=Knight|first1=Rod|last2=Jauffret-Roustide|first2=Marie|last3=Bolduc|first3=Naseeb|last4=Coulard|first4=Pierre-julien|date=2020-12-03|access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Beyond |publisher=University of British Columbia |language=en}} Elderly people get stereotyped as lacking knowledge of proper behavior on social media.{{Cite journal |last=Ng |first=Reuben |date=2021-08-21 |title=Societal Age Stereotypes in the U.S. and U.K. from a Media Database of 1.1 Billion Words |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |volume=18 |issue=16 |pages=8822 |doi=10.3390/ijerph18168822 |issn=1661-7827 |pmc=8391425 |pmid=34444578|doi-access=free }} Social media platforms usually amplify these stereotypes by reinforcing age-based biases through certain algorithms as well as user-generated content. Unfortunately, these stereotypes contribute to social divide and negatively impact the way users interact online.Kroon, Anne C., and van Selm, Martine. "Good Intentions Aside: Stereotype Threat in the Face of Media Strategies to Counter Age Bias". Research on Aging 46, no. 9/10 (October 2024): 480–91. {{doi|10.1177/01640275241249117}}.

Social media allows for mass cultural exchange and intercultural communication, despite different ways of communicating in various cultures.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/ampu/crosscult.html|title=Working on Common Cross-cultural Communication Challenges|website=www.pbs.org|last1=DuPraw|first1=Marcelle E.|last2=Axner|first2=Marya|date=1997|access-date=2022-08-29}}

Social media has affected the way youth communicate, by introducing new forms of language.{{cite book | doi=10.1007/978-3-030-84230-7 | title=Esperanto Revolutionaries and Geeks | date=2021 | last1=Fians | first1=Guilherme | isbn=978-3-030-84229-1 | s2cid=245721938 }} Novel acronyms save time, as illustrated by "LOL", which is the ubiquitous shortcut for "laugh out loud".

The hashtag was created to simplify searching for information and to allow users to highlight topics of interest in the hope of attracting the attention of others. Hashtags can be used to advocate for a movement, mark content for future use, and allow other users to contribute to a discussion.{{Cite journal|last1=Saxton|first1=Gregory D.|last2=Niyirora|first2=Jerome N.|last3=Guo|first3=Chao|last4=Waters|first4=Richard D.|date=Spring 2015|title=#AdvocatingForChange: The Strategic Use of Hashtags in Social Media Advocacy|journal=Advances in Social Work|volume=16|pages=154–169|doi=10.18060/17952|doi-access=free}}

For some young people, social media and texting have largely replaced in person communications, made worse by pandemic isolation, delaying the development of conversation and other social skills.{{Cite web |title=How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers |url=https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/ |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=Child Mind Institute |language=en-us}}

What is socially acceptable is now heavily based on social media.{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Monica |last2=Jiang |first2=Jingjing |title=1. Teens and their experiences on social media |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/11/28/teens-and-their-experiences-on-social-media/ |website=Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech |access-date=21 November 2020 |date=28 November 2018}} The American Academy of Pediatrics reported that bullying, the making of non-inclusive friend groups, and sexual experimentation have increased cyberbullying, privacy issues, and sending sexual images or messages. Sexting and revenge porn became rampant, particularly among minors, with legal implications and resulting trauma risk.{{Cite journal|last=Lalli|first=Jaideep Singh|date=2021-08-05|title=Maryland's Underage Sexting Case: Punishing Revenge Porn Victims?: Case Analysis of In Re: S.K., 215 A.3d 300 (Md. 2019)|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/25166069211033212|journal=Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice|language=en|pages= |doi=10.1177/25166069211033212|s2cid=241531975|issn=2516-6069}}{{Cite journal|last=Osterday|first=Mitchell|date=2015–2016|title=Protecting Minors from Themselves: Expanding Revenge Porn Laws to Protect the Most Vulnerable|url=https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/inlawrev/article/view/21002|journal=Indiana Law Review|volume=49|issue=2|pages=555|doi=10.18060/4806.0075|doi-access=free}}{{Cite book|last1=Phippen|first1=Andy|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315149691/sexting-revenge-pornography-andy-phippen-maggie-brennan|title=Sexting and Revenge Pornography: Legislative and Social Dimensions of a Modern Digital Phenomenon|last2=Brennan|first2=Maggie|date=2020-12-07|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-14969-1|location=London|doi=10.4324/9781315149691|s2cid=228921617}}{{Cite journal|last1=Paat|first1=Yok-Fong|last2=Markham|first2=Christine|date=2021-01-02|title=Digital crime, trauma, and abuse: Internet safety and cyber risks for adolescents and emerging adults in the 21st century|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2020.1845281|journal=Social Work in Mental Health|volume=19|issue=1|pages=18–40|doi=10.1080/15332985.2020.1845281|s2cid=228869238|issn=1533-2985}} However, adolescents can learn basic social and technical skills online.{{Cite web |last1=Mir |first1=Eline |last2=Novas |first2=Caroline |last3=Seymour |first3=Meg |date=2018-08-10 |title=Social Media and Adolescents' and Young Adults' Mental Health |url=http://www.center4research.org/social-media-affects-mental-health/ |access-date=2020-02-29 |website=National Center for Health Research |language=en-US}} Social media, can strengthen relationships just by keeping in touch, making more friends, and engaging in community activities.

{{Expand section|date=July 2024}}

In July 2014, in response to WikiLeaks' release of a secret suppression order made by the Victorian Supreme Court, media lawyers were quoted in the Australian media to the effect that "anyone who tweets a link to the WikiLeaks report, posts it on Facebook, or shares it in any way online could also face charges".{{cite news |last=Cooper |first=Mex |date=July 30, 2014 |title=Social media users could be charged for sharing WikiLeaks story |url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/social-media-users-could-be-charged-for-sharing-wikileaks-story-20140730-zye0b.html |access-date=2022-08-29 |publisher=Brisbane Times}}

In November 2024, the federal government passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 introduced by the Albanese government banning people under the age of 16 from using most social media platforms, which would come into effect in late 2025.{{cite news |last1=Kaye |first1=Byron |last2=Menon |first2=Praveen |title=Australia passes social media ban for children under 16 |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/australia-passes-social-media-ban-children-under-16-2024-11-28/ |access-date=3 December 2024 |work=Reuters |date=29 November 2024}} 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.{{cite report |date=21 November 2024 |title=House of Representatives: Hansard: Thursday, 21 November 2024: Proof |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/api/hansard/link/?id=chamber/hansardr/28041/toc&linktype=pdf&fulltranscript=True |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |page=6{{hyphen}}10 |access-date=3 December 2024}} The stated penalty for breach of the new laws on the part of social media platforms was a financial penalty of AU$49.5 million. The ban would apply to many major social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, but would exempt platforms deemed to meet educational or health needs of people under 16, including YouTube and Google Classroom. Supporters of the ban included the advocacy group 36 Months{{cite news |last1=Manfield |first1=Evelyn |title=YouTube exemption backed by group behind push for under-16 social media ban |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-21/youtube-allowed-under-social-media-ban-under-16s/104629944 |access-date=3 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=21 November 2024}} and media corporation News Corp Australia which ran a campaign titled Let Them Be Kids, whilst opposers expressed concern that the ban could cause isolation amongst teenagers belonging to marginalised groups such as the LGBTQ community or migrant/culturally diverse backgrounds,{{cite news |last1=Kapernick |first1=Kerri |last2=Moseley |first2=Amelia |title=Federal government's looming social media ban may be bad for isolated, marginalised teenagers |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-24/social-media-ban-detrimental-isolated-teens/104500932 |access-date=3 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=24 October 2024}} and that the ban could stifle creativity and freedom of expression amongst young people.{{cite news |last1=Touma |first1=Rafqa |title=Protecting or restricting? The effect of social media bans on the big dreams of young Australians |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/dec/03/australia-labor-social-media-ban-impact-children |access-date=3 December 2024 |work=Guardian |date=3 December 2024}}

On 27 July 2020, in Egypt, two women were sentenced to two years of imprisonment for posting TikTok videos, which the government claimed as "violating family values".{{cite news |last1=Walsh |first1=Declan |date=28 July 2020 |title=Egypt Sentences Women to 2 Years in Prison for TikTok Videos |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/world/middleeast/egypt-women-tiktok-prison.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728211112/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/world/middleeast/egypt-women-tiktok-prison.html |archive-date=2020-07-28 |access-date=28 July 2020 |website=The New York Times}}

In the 2014 Thai coup d'état, the public was explicitly instructed not to 'share' or 'like' dissenting views on social media or face prison.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Historically, platforms were responsible for moderating the content that they presented. They set rules for what was allowable, decided which content to promote and which to ignore. The US enacted the Communications Decency Act in 1996. Section 230 of that act exempted internet platforms from legal liability for content authored by third parties.

{{Blockquote|text=No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." (47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1)).|author=US Congress|title=Communications Decency Act Section 230}}In 2024, legislation was enacted in Florida requiring social media companies to verify the age of people with accounts, and to prohibit holding an account for people aged under 14, and between 14 and 16 in the absence of parental approval.{{Cite web |last1=Hatter |first1=Lynn |last2=Andrews |first2=Adrian |date=2024-03-25 |title=DeSantis signs social media ban for minors, among the strictest in the nation |url=https://health.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2024-03-25/desantis-signs-social-media-ban-for-minors-among-the-strictest-in-the-nation |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Health News Florida |language=en}}{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2024-03-26 |title=Ron DeSantis signs Florida social media ban for children into law |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/26/ron-desantis-florida-social-media-ban-children |access-date=2024-07-30 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

The European Union initially took a similar approach.{{Cite journal |last=Schlag |first=Gabi |date=2023-08-31 |title=European Union's Regulating of Social Media: A Discourse Analysis of the Digital Services Act |url=https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/6735 |journal=Politics and Governance |language=en |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=168–177, p. 168 |doi=10.17645/pag.v11i3.6735 |issn=2183-2463 |doi-access=free }} However, in 2020, the European Commission presented two legislative proposals: The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Both proposals were enacted in July 2022. The DSA entered into force on 17 February 2024, the DMA in March 2024.{{Cite web |date=2023-11-15 |title=The Digital Services Act package {{!}} Shaping Europe's digital future |url=https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act-package |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu |language=en}} This legislation can be summarized in the following four objectives, articulated by MEPs:

• "What is illegal offline must also be illegal online".{{Cite journal |last=Schlag |first=Gabi |date=2023-08-31 |title=European Union's Regulating of Social Media: A Discourse Analysis of the Digital Services Act |url=https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/6735 |journal=Politics and Governance |language=en |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=168–177 |doi=10.17645/pag.v11i3.6735 |issn=2183-2463 |doi-access=free }}
• "Very large online platforms" must therefore, among other things
• delete illegal content (propaganda, election interference, hate crimes and online harms such as harassment and child abuse) and better protect fundamental rights
• redesign their systems to ensure a "high level of privacy, security and protection of minors", by prohibiting advertising based on personal data, designing recommender systems to minimize risks for children and demonstrating this to the European Commission via a risk assessment, and
• not use sensitive personal data such as race, gender and religion to target advertising.{{Cite news |last=O'Carroll |first=Lisa |date=2023-08-25 |title=How the EU Digital Services Act affects Facebook, Google and others |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/25/how-the-eu-digital-services-act-affects-facebook-google-and-others |access-date=2023-11-26 |issn=0261-3077}}

Violators could face a complete ban in Europe or fines of up to 6% of global sales. Such content moderation requires extensive investment by platform providers.{{Cite web |last=Puig Larrauri |first=Helena |date=2023-04-06 |title=SOCIETAL DIVIDES AS A TAXABLE NEGATIVE EXTERNALITY OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS. An exploration of the rationale for regulating algorithmically mediated platforms differently. |url=https://www.next-now.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/Societal%20Divides%20as%20a%20taxable%20negative%20externality%20of%20digital%20platforms_0.pdf}} Enforcement resources may not be sufficient to ensure compliance.{{Cite web |title=What impact will the EU's Digital Services Act have? |publisher=DW |date=August 25, 2023 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/what-impact-will-the-eus-digital-services-act-have/a-66631337 |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=dw.com |language=en}}

The DSA allows a country to require information to be deleted that is illegal only in that jurisdiction. 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.{{Cite web |last=Beckmann |first=Holger |title=Digital Services Act: Was illegal ist, muss raus aus dem Netz |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/digital-services-act-100.html |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=tagesschau.de |language=de}}

2018 Nobel Laureate Paul Romer{{Cite news |last=Romer |first=Paul |date=2019-05-06 |title=Opinion {{!}} A Tax That Could Fix Big Tech |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/opinion/tax-facebook-google.html |access-date=2023-11-26 |issn=0362-4331}} advocated taxing negative externalities of social media platforms. Similar to a carbon tax – negative social effects could be compensated for by a financial levy on the platforms.{{Cite web |last=Writer |first=Guest |date=2023-04-06 |title=Negative Externalities of Digital Platforms Should Be Taxed Today |url=https://www.ictworks.org/tax-negative-externalities-of-digital-platforms/ |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=ICTworks}} Assuming that the tax did not deter the actions that produced the externalities, the revenue raised could be used to address them. However, consensus has yet to emerge on how to measure or mitigate the harms, nor to craft a tax, .

Another proposal is to invoke competition law.{{Cite journal |last1=Mazúr |first1=Ján |last2=Patakyová |first2=Mária T. |date=2019-09-30 |title=Regulatory Approaches to Facebook and Other Social Media Platforms: Towards Platforms Design Accountability |url=https://journals.muni.cz/mujlt/article/view/11822 |journal=Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=219–242 |doi=10.5817/MUJLT2019-2-4 |s2cid=211391599 |issn=1802-5951|doi-access=free }} The idea is to restrict the platforms' market power by controlling mergers ex ante and tightening the law. This would be achieved through a supranational enforcement mechanism and the deterrent effect of high fines.

In a 2024 opinion piece, Megan Moreno and Jenny Radesky, professors of pediatrics, wrote about the need for "nuanced" policy.{{Cite journal |last1=Moreno |first1=Megan A. |last2=Radesky |first2=Jenny S. |date=2024-07-22 |title=Benefits and Harms of Proposed Social Media Legislation |url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2821471 |journal=JAMA Pediatrics |volume=178 |issue=9 |pages=857–858 |language=en |doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.2380 |pmid=39037793 |issn=2168-6203 |url-access=subscription}} They regarded access which is contingent upon parental consent as harmful. They commented that a focus on increasing age restrictions "may serve to distract from making sure platforms are following guidelines and best practices for all ages".{{Cite web |last1=Radesky |first1=Jenny |last2=Moreno |first2=Megan |date=2024-04-04 |title=Online child safety laws could help or hurt – 2 pediatricians explain what's likely to work and what isn't |url=http://theconversation.com/online-child-safety-laws-could-help-or-hurt-2-pediatricians-explain-whats-likely-to-work-and-what-isnt-226436 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}

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.{{Cite news |last=Murthy |first=Vivek H. |date=2024-06-17 |title=Opinion {{!}} Surgeon General: Why I'm Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/opinion/social-media-health-warning.html |access-date=2024-06-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

The business model of most social media platforms is based on selling slots to advertisers. Platforms provide access to data about each user, which allows them to deliver ads that are individually relevant to them. This strongly incents platforms to arrange their content so that users view as much content as possible, increasing the number of ads that they see. Platforms such as X add paid user subscriptions in part to reduce their dependence on advertising revenues.{{Cite web |last=L |first=Frank |date=March 1, 2023 |title=5 Winning Social Media Business Models + Examples |url=https://getstream.io/blog/social-media-business-models/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=getstream.io |language=en}}

The enormous reach and impact of social media has naturally led to a stream of criticism, debate, and controversy. Criticisms include platform capabilities, content moderation and reliability,{{cite journal|last1=Flanigin|first1=Andrew J.|last2=Metzger|first2=Miriam|s2cid=33591074 |title=The role of site features, user attributes, and information verification behaviors on the perceived credibility of web-based information. |journal=New Media and Society |year=2007 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=319–342 |url=http://www.annehelmond.nl/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/319.pdf |access-date=2014-02-15 |doi=10.1177/1461444807075015}} impact on concentration, mental health,{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Jomon Aliyas |last2=Baker |first2=Hope M. |last3=Cochran |first3=Justin Daniel |title=Effect of online social networking on student academic performance |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |date=November 2012 |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=2117–2127 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2012.06.016}} content ownership, and the meaning of interactions, and poor cross-platform interoperability,{{cite web |last=Hinchiffe |first=Don |title=Are social media silos holding back business |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/are-social-media-silos-holding-back-business-results/|date=2013-06-25|publisher=ZDNet.com |access-date=2014-02-15}} decrease in face-to-face interactions, cyberbullying, sexual predation, particularly of children, and child pornography.{{Cite journal|last1=Greene-Colozzi|first1=Emily A.|last2=Winters|first2=Georgia M.|last3=Blasko|first3=Brandy|last4=Jeglic|first4=Elizabeth L.|date=2020-10-02|title=Experiences and Perceptions of Online Sexual Solicitation and Grooming of Minors: A Retrospective Report|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2020.1801938|journal=Journal of Child Sexual Abuse|volume=29|issue=7|pages=836–854|doi=10.1080/10538712.2020.1801938|issn=1053-8712|pmid=33017275|s2cid=222159972}}{{Citation|last1=Henshaw|first1=Marie|title=Chapter Five - Online child sexual offending|date=2020-01-01|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128194348000052|work=Child Sexual Abuse|pages=85–108|editor-last=Bryce|editor-first=India|publisher=Academic Press|language=en|isbn=978-0-12-819434-8|access-date=2021-12-31|last2=Darjee|first2=Rajan|last3=Clough|first3=Jonathan A.|editor2-last=Petherick|editor2-first=Wayne}}

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. Under these rules, the only way to intellectually prevail is by infinite filibustering."{{Cite book |last=Keen |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Keen |title=The Cult of the Amateur |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-385-52081-2 |page=15|year=2007 }}

{{See also|The Disinformation Project}}

Social media has become a regular source of news and information. A 2021 Pew Research Center poll reported roughly 70% of users regularly get news from social media, despite the presence of fake news and misinformation. Platforms typically do not take responsibility for content accuracy, and many do not vet content at all, although in some cases, content the platform finds problematic is deleted or access to it is reduced.{{Cite news |date=February 12, 2020 |title=Facebook starts fact-checking partnership with Reuters |newspaper=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-partnership-reuters-idUSKBN2062K4 |access-date=March 2, 2022 }}{{Cite magazine |last=Watercutter |first=Angela |title=Two to Tango: Twitter Fact-Checks the Fact-Checkers |url=https://www.wired.com/story/trump-speech-twitter-fact-check/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=March 2, 2022}}{{Cite web |title=See fact checks in YouTube search results - YouTube Help |url=https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9229632?hl=en |access-date=March 2, 2022 |website=support.google.com}} Content distribution algorithms otherwise typically ignore substance, responding instead to the contents' virality.

In 2018, researchers reported that fake news spread almost 70% faster than truthful news on X. Social media bots on social media increase the reach of both true and false content and if wielded by bad actors misinformation can reach many more users. Some platforms attempt to discover and block bots, with limited success. Fake news seems to receive more user engagement, possibly because it is relatively novel, engaging users' curiosity and increasing spread. Fake news often propagates in the immediate aftermath of an event, before conventional media are prepared to publish.

{{Excerpt|Social media mining}}

{{Further|Social media activism}}

Malcolm Gladwell considers the role of social media in revolutions and protests to be overstated. He concluded that while social media makes it easier for activists to express themselves, that expression likely has no impact beyond social media. What he called "high-risk activism" involves strong relationships, coordination, commitment, high risks, and sacrifice.{{cite magazine |last=Gladwell |first=Malcolm |date=October 4, 2010 |title=Small Changes – Why the revolution will not be tweeted |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/small-change-3 |access-date=2012-11-15 |magazine=The New Yorker}} Gladwell claimed that social media are built around weak ties and argues that "social networks are effective at increasing participation—by lessening the level of motivation that participation requires." According to him, "Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice, but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice."

Disputing Gladwell's theory, a 2018 survey reported that people who are politically expressive on social media are more likely to participate in offline political activity.{{Cite journal|last1=Kwak|first1=Nojin|last2=Lane|first2=Daniel S|last3=Weeks|first3=Brian E|last4=Kim|first4=Dam Hee|last5=Lee|first5=Slgi S|last6=Bachleda|first6=Sarah|date=April 1, 2018|title=Perceptions of Social Media for Politics: Testing the Slacktivism Hypothesis|journal=Human Communication Research|volume=44|issue=2|pages=197–221|doi=10.1093/hcr/hqx008|issn=0360-3989}}

Social media content is generated by users. However, content ownership is defined by the Terms of Service to which users agree. Platforms control access to the content, and may make it available to third parties.{{cite web |url=http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/student-papers/fall05-papers/facebook.pdf |last1=Jones |first1=Harvey |last2=Soltren |first2=José Hiram |title=Facebook: Threats to Privacy |publisher=MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab |year= 2005 |access-date=2018-04-04 }}

Although platform's terms differ, generally they all give permission to utilize users' copyrighted works at the platform's discretion.{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Cadie |date=2015-05-20 |title=What you really sign up for when you use social media |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/20/what-you-really-sign-up-for-when-you-use-social-media.html |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=CNBC |language=}}

After its acquisition by Facebook in 2012, Instagram revealed it intended to use content in ads without seeking permission from or paying its users.{{Cite web |last=McCullagh |first=Declan |date=2012-12-17 |title=Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/instagram-says-it-now-has-the-right-to-sell-your-photos/ |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=CNET}}{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Salvador |date=2012-12-17 |title=Instagram may have ads, let companies use your photos for the ads |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-dec-17-la-fi-tn-instagram-sell-photos-terms-of-service-20121217-story.html |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=Los Angeles Times}} It then reversed these changes, with then-CEO Kevin Systrom promising to update the terms of service.{{Cite web |last1=McCullagh |first1=Declan |last2=Tam |first2=Donna |title=Instagram apologizes to users: We won't sell your photos |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/instagram-apologizes-to-users-we-wont-sell-your-photos/ |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=CNET}}{{Cite web |last=Sottek |first=T.C. |date=2012-12-18 |title=Instagram says 'it's not our intention to sell your photos' |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/12/18/3781860/instagram-on-its-new-tos-its-not-our-intention-to-sell-your-photos |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=The Verge}}

{{main|Privacy concerns with social networking services}}

Privacy rights advocates warn users about the collection of their personal data. Information is captured without the user's knowing consent. Data may be applied to law enforcement or other governmental purposes.{{cite journal |last=Auer |first=Matthew R. |year=2011 |title=The Policy Sciences of Social Media |journal=Policy Studies Journal |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=709–736 |doi=10.1111/j.1541-0072.2011.00428.x |s2cid=153590593 |ssrn=1974080}} Information may be offered for third party use.

Young people are prone to sharing personal information that can attract predators.{{Cite web |url=http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/teens-social-media-and-privacy/ |title=Teens, Social Media, and Privacy |last1=Madden |first1=Mary|last2=Lenhart|first2=Amanda|last3=Cortesi|first3=Sandra|last4=Gasser|first4=Urs|last5=Duggan|first5=Maeve|last6=Smith|first6=Aaron|last7=Beaton|first7=Meredith|date=May 21, 2013 |website=Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech |access-date=2016-11-29 }}

While social media users claim to want to keep their data private, their behavior does not reflect that concern, as many users expose significant personal data on their profiles.

In addition, platforms collect data on user behaviors that are not part of their personal profiles. This data is made available to third parties for purposes that include targeted advertising.{{Cite web|title=Social Media Privacy Issues for 2020: Threats & Risks|date=8 November 2019 |url=https://sopa.tulane.edu/blog/key-social-media-privacy-issues-2020|access-date=2020-11-12|publisher=Tulane University}}

A 2014 Pew Research Center survey reported that 91% of Americans "agree" or "strongly agree" that people have lost control over how personal information is collected and used. Some 80% of social media users said they were concerned about advertisers and businesses accessing the data they share on social media platforms, and 64% said the government should do more to regulate advertisers.{{Cite news|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/27/americans-complicated-feelings-about-social-media-in-an-era-of-privacy-concerns/|last=Rainie|first=Lee|title=Americans' complicated feelings about social media in an era of privacy concerns|date=March 27, 2018|work=Pew Research Center|access-date=2018-06-13|language=en-US}} In 2019, UK legislators criticized Facebook for not protecting certain aspects of user data.{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-committee-rebukes-facebook-in-call-for-social-media-regulation-11550448060#comments_sector|title=U.K. Lawmakers Rebuke Facebook in Call for Social-Media Regulation|last1=Fidler|first1=Stephen|last2=Wells|first2=Georgia|date=2019-02-17|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2022-08-29}}

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."{{cite news |date=21 December 2019 |title=US Navy bans TikTok from mobile devices saying it's a cybersecurity threat |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/21/us-navy-bans-tiktok-from-mobile-devices-saying-its-a-cybersecurity-threat |access-date=6 January 2023 |work=The Guardian}} As a result, the military, Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, and Department of Homeland Security banned the installation and use of TikTok on government devices.{{cite news |date=25 February 2020 |title=US government agencies are banning TikTok, the social media app teens are obsessed with, over cybersecurity fears — here's the full list |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/us-government-agencies-have-banned-tiktok-app-2020-2 |access-date=6 January 2023 |work=Business Insider}}

In 2020 The US government attempted to ban TikTok and WeChat from the States over national security concerns. However, a federal court blocked the move.{{Cite web|date=2020-10-30|title=Judge postpones Trump's TikTok ban in suit brought by users|url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-entertainment-pennsylvania-courts-3573972d3aa6bee78304e3195ffe4ade|last=O'Brien|first=Matt|access-date=2020-11-29|website=AP NEWS}} In 2024, the US Congress passed a law directing TikTok's parent company ByteDance to divest the service or see the service banned from operating in the US. The company sued, challenging the constitutionality of the ban.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-28 |title=U.S. court to hear challenges to potential TikTok ban in September |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/28/us-court-to-hear-challenges-to-potential-tiktok-ban-in-september.html |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=CNBC |language=en}} The ban was upheld as constitutional.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

{{Main|Problematic social media use}}

{{See also|Digital media use and mental health}}

{{Excerpt|Internet addiction disorder|only=paragraphs}}Research suggests that social media platforms trigger a cycle of compulsive behavior, which reinforces addictive patterns and makes it harder for individuals to break the cycle.Hou, Yubo, Dan Xiong, Tonglin Jiang, Lily Song, and Qi Wang. "Social Media Addiction: Its Impact, Mediation, and Intervention." Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 13, no. 1 (February 21, 2019). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2019-1-4.

Various lawsuits have been brought regarding social media addiction, such as the Multi-District Litigation alleging harms caused by social media addiction on young users.{{Cite web |title=Meta Limits But Can't Shake Social Media Addiction MDL - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1890319/meta-limits-but-can-t-shake-social-media-addiction-mdl |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}}

{{See also|Social media in education}}

Whether to restrict the use of phones and social media among young people has been debated since smartphones became ubiquitous.{{cite magazine |last=Kist |first=W. |date=December 2012 |title=Class, Get Ready to Tweet: Social Media in the Classroom |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ991339 |journal=Our Children: The National PTA Magazine |pages=10–11 |volume=38 |number=3}} 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.{{Cite web |last=KATELLA |first=KATHY |date=January 8, 2024 |title=How Social Media Affects Your Teen's Mental Health: A Parent's Guide |url=https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/social-media-teen-mental-health-a-parents-guide |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Yale Medicine |language=en}} Platforms have not tuned their algorithms to prevent young people from viewing inappropriate content. A 2023 study of Australian youth reported that 57% had seen disturbingly violent content, while nearly half had regular exposure to sexual images.{{Cite web |last=eSafety Commissioner |date=August 2023 |title=Inappropriate content: factsheet |url=https://www.esafety.gov.au/educators/training-for-professionals/professional-learning-program-teachers/inappropriate-content-factsheet}} Further, youth are prone to misuse social media for cyberbullying.{{Cite journal |last=Santre |first=Siriporn |date=2023-02-01 |title=Cyberbullying in adolescents: a literature review |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijamh-2021-0133/html |journal=International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health |language=en |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1515/ijamh-2021-0133 |pmid=35245420 |issn=2191-0278}}

As result, phones have been banned from some schools, and some schools in the US have blocked social media websites.{{Cite web |agency=Associated Press |date=2024-02-27 |title=Phones are distracting students in class. More states are pressing schools to ban them |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/phones-are-distracting-students-class-states-are-pressing-schools-ban-rcna140629 |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

Intense discussions are taking place regarding the imposition of certain restrictions on children's access to social media. It is argued that using social media at a young age brings with it many problems. For example, according to a survey conducted by Ofcom, the media regulator in the UK, 22% of children aged 8-17 lie about being over 18 on social media. According to a system implemented in Norway, more than half of nine-year-olds and the vast majority of 12-year-olds spend time on social media. A series of measures have begun to be taken across Europe to prevent the risks caused by such problems. The countries that have taken concrete steps in this regard are Norway and France. Since June 2023, France has started requiring social media platforms to verify the ages of their users and to obtain parental consent for those under the age of 15. In Norway, there is a minimum age requirement of 13 to access social media. The Online Safety Law in the UK has given social media platforms until mid-2025 to strengthen their age verification systems.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-29 |title=Çocuklara sosyal medya yasağı: Türkiye ve dünyada tartışılan kısıtlama modelleri ne? |url=https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/czj7rn2g4m3o |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=BBC News Türkçe |language=tr}}

{{Main|Internet censorship|Internet censorship in China|Internet censorship in India}}

Social media often features in political struggles. In some countries, Internet police or secret police monitor or control citizens' use of social media. For example, in 2013 some social media was banned in Turkey after the Taksim Gezi Park protests. Both X and YouTube were temporarily suspended in the country by a court's decision. A law granted immunity to Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) personnel. The TİB was also given the authority to block access to specific websites without a court order.{{cite web|first=Salih|last=Sarıkaya |title=Social Media Ban In Turkey: What Does It Mean? by Salih Sarıkaya |url=http://www.salihsarikaya.com/en/social-media-ban-in-turkey-what-does-it-mean-by-salih-sarikaya/ |date=October 30, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006012638/http://www.salihsarikaya.com/en/social-media-ban-in-turkey-what-does-it-mean-by-salih-sarikaya/ |archive-date=2014-10-06 }} Yet TİB's 2014 blocking of X was ruled by the constitutional court to violate free speech.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-twitter-ban-idUSBREA311BF20140402 |title=Turkey's Twitter ban violates free speech: constitutional court |work=Reuters |date=April 2, 2014|access-date=2022-08-29}}

{{Excerpt|Internet censorship in the United States|only=paragraphs}}

While the dominant social media platforms are not interoperable, open source protocols such as ActivityPub have been adopted by platforms such as Mastodon, GNU social, Diaspora, and Friendica. They operate as a loose federation of mostly volunteer-operated servers, called the Fediverse. However, in 2019, Mastodon blocked Gab from connecting to it, claiming that it spread violent, right-wing extremism.{{cite web|url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/372488/twitter-wants-social-media-to-be-more-like-email|title=Twitter Wants Social Media to Be More Like Email|last=Kan|first=Michael|date=2019-12-11|work=PC Magazine|access-date=2022-08-29}}

In December 2019, X CEO Jack Dorsey advocated an "open and decentralized standard for social media". He joined Bluesky to bring it to reality.{{Cite magazine |last=Kang |first=Jay Caspian |date=2023-05-12 |title=What Bluesky Tells Us About the Future of Social Media |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-bluesky-tells-us-about-the-future-of-social-media |access-date=2024-05-29 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}

{{see also|Twitter suspensions}}

{{excerpt|Deplatforming|only=paragraphs}}

{{See also|Democratic backsliding|The Social Dilemma}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Gal |first=Uri |date=2024-01-26 |title=Opinion: Anti-social media: What can be done to stop platforms from driving democracies apart? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/religion/ethics-social-media-tiktok-pulling-democratic-society-apart/103393442 |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=ABC Religion & Ethics |language=en-AU}} Zack Beauchamp of Vox Media calls it an authoritarian medium because of how it is incentivized to stir up hate and division that benefits aspiring autocrats.{{Cite web |last=Beauchamp |first=Zack |date=2019-01-22 |title=Social media is rotting democracy from within |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/22/18177076/social-media-facebook-far-right-authoritarian-populism |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=Vox |language=en-US}} The Economist describes social media as vulnerable to manipulation by autocrats.{{Cite news |date=November 4, 2017 |title=Once considered a boon to democracy, social media have started to look like its nemesis |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2017/11/04/once-considered-a-boon-to-democracy-social-media-have-started-to-look-like-its-nemesis |access-date=2024-07-15 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}} Informed dialogue, a shared sense of reality, mutual consent and participation can all suffer due to the business model of social media.{{Cite web |last1=Deb |first1=Anamitra |last2=Donohue |first2=Stacy |last3=Glaisyer |first3=Tom |date=October 31, 2017 |title=Is Social Media a Threat to Democracy? |url=https://gijn.org/stories/is-social-media-a-threat-to-democracy/ |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=Global Investigative Journalism Network |language=en-US}} Political polarization can be one byproduct.{{Cite news |date=February 20, 2017 |title='#Republic' Author Describes How Social Media Hurts Democracy |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/20/516292286/-republic-author-describes-how-social-media-hurts-democracy |work=NPR}}{{Cite web |last=Hull |first=Gordon |date=2017-11-06 |title=Why social media may not be so good for democracy |url=http://theconversation.com/why-social-media-may-not-be-so-good-for-democracy-86285 |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2023-05-31 |title=What's driving America's partisan divide and what might be done to reverse it |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/whats-driving-americas-partisan-divide-and-what-might-be-done-to-reverse-it |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=PBS News |language=en-us}} This can have implications for the likelihood of political violence.{{Cite news |last=Goo |first=Sara Kehaulani |date=Jun 28, 2022 |title=Nobelist Maria Ressa: Social media is corroding U.S. democracy |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/06/28/maria-ressa-social-media-democracy |work=Axios}} Siva Vaidhyanathan argues for a range of solutions including privacy protections and enforcing anti-trust laws.{{Cite news |last=Naughton |first=John |date=2018-06-25 |title=Anti-Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy by Siva Vaidhyanathan – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/25/anti-social-media-how-facebook-disconnects-us-undermines-democracy-siva-vaidhyanathan-review |access-date=2024-07-14 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}} 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.{{Cite magazine |last=Leonard |first=Andrew |date=July 30, 2020 |title=How Taiwan's Unlikely Digital Minister Hacked the Pandemic |url=https://www.wired.com/story/how-taiwans-unlikely-digital-minister-hacked-the-pandemic/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Miller (author) |date=2020-09-27 |title=How Taiwan's 'civic hackers' helped find a new way to run the country |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/27/taiwan-civic-hackers-polis-consensus-social-media-platform |access-date=2024-02-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

{{Main|Terrorism and social media}}

According to LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media,LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media (2018) by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking the use of effective social media marketing techniques includes not only celebrities, corporations, and governments, but also extremist groups.{{Cite news|last=Giangreco|first=Leigh|date=2018-11-29|title=How Trump, ISIS and Russia have mastered the Internet as a weapon|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/how-trump-isis-and-russia-have-mastered-the-internet-as-a-weapon/2018/11/29/5a6e44c8-c58e-11e8-9b1c-a90f1daae309_story.html|access-date=2021-01-22|issn=0190-8286}} The use of social media by ISIS and Al-Qaeda has been used to influence public opinion where it operates and gain the attention of sympathizers. Social media platforms and encrypted-messaging applications have been used to recruit members, both locally and internationally.{{Cite journal|last=Awan|first=Imran|date=2017-04-01|title=Cyber-Extremism: Isis and the Power of Social Media|journal=Society|language=en|volume=54|issue=2|pages=138–149|doi=10.1007/s12115-017-0114-0|s2cid=54069174|issn=1936-4725|doi-access=free}} Platforms have endured backlash for allowing this content. Extreme nationalist groups, and more prominently, US right-wing extremists have used similar online tactics. As many traditional social media platforms banned hate speech, several platforms became popular among right-wing extremists to carry out planning and communication including of events; these application became known as "Alt-tech". Platforms such as Telegram, Parler, and Gab were used during the January 6 United States Capitol attack, to coordinate attacks.{{Cite web|title=Experts say echo chambers from apps like Parler and Gab contributed to attack on Capitol|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/experts-echo-chambers-apps-parler-gab-contributed-attack/story?id=75141014|last=Romero|first=Laura|date=2021-01-12|access-date=2021-01-22|website=ABC News|language=en}} Members shared tips on how to avoid law enforcement and their plans on carrying out their objectives; some users called for killing law enforcement officers and politicians.{{Cite web|last=Murdock|first=Jason|date=2021-01-13|title=Amazon shut down Parler after users called for politicians, police to be killed: Lawsuit|url=https://www.newsweek.com/amazon-web-services-parler-lawsuit-user-threats-1561179|access-date=2021-01-22|website=Newsweek|language=en}}

{{Further|Death and the Internet}}

Social media content, persists unless the user deletes it. After a user dies, unless the platform is notified, their content remains.{{Cite web|date=2018-12-30|title=What happens to social media after you die|url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/this-is-what-happens-to-all-your-social-media-accounts-after-you-die/news-story/6af9db68910ec664752bdd7693875541|access-date=2020-11-27|website=NewsComAu|language=en}} Each platform has created guidelines for this situation.{{Cite web|date=2017-03-08|title=Social Media Accounts After a Loved One Dies|url=https://beyond.life/help-centre/admin-legal/social-media-accounts-loved-one-dies/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=Beyond|language=en-GB}} 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.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Guidelines for users who have died, by platform

!Platform

!Guideline

|-

|X{{Cite web|title=How to contact Twitter about a deceased family member's account|url=https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/contact-twitter-about-a-deceased-family-members-account|access-date=2020-11-28|website=help.twitter.com|language=en}}

|The company works with an immediate family member to deactivate the account. Additionally, X will not give the account to any other person, regardless of the relationship.

|-

|Facebook

|Users have the option of having their account permanently deleted after death. Users can identify a 'legacy contact' who would take over the account after.

|-

|Instagram{{Cite web|title=Instagram Help Center|url=https://help.instagram.com/contact/452224988254813?helpref=faq_content|access-date=2020-12-01|website=help.instagram.com}}

|Users can have the account memorialized or deleted with proof of death.

|-

|LinkedIn{{Cite web|title=Deceased LinkedIn Member|url=https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/2842/deceased-linkedin-member?lang=en|access-date=2020-12-01|website=LinkedIn Help|language=en}}

|A family member can request that the account be deleted. The family member must identify the account, submit proof of relationship, the user's email address, date of death, a link to the obituary, and the name of the last company the deceased worked for.

|-

|Pinterest

|Must email the company with the URL of the account along with a death certificate or a link to the obituary, as well as proof of relationship to the deceased.

|-

|YouTube{{Cite web|title=Submit a request regarding a deceased user's account |url=https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590?hl=en#ts=6357650 |website=google.account.help.com |language=en}}

|A representative can close the account, transfer payments from the account to an immediate family member and legal representative of the user's estate, and can provide the data in the account to a family member. All three capabilities require the requestor's government-issued ID or driver's license, the decedent's death certificate, and additional supporting documentation.

|-

|WeChat

|The heir must supply the user's death certificate, authentication of family relationship. The successor can then obtain the assets.

|}

{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}}

• {{Annotated link |Attention inequality}}
• {{Annotated link |Citizen media}}
• {{Annotated link |Connectivism}}
• {{Annotated link |Connectivity (media)}}
• {{Annotated link |News aggregator|Content aggregator}}
• {{Annotated link |Culture jamming}}
• {{Annotated link |Digital detox}}
• {{Annotated link |List of social bookmarking websites}}
• {{Annotated link |List of social networking services}}
• {{Annotated link |Metcalfe's law}}
• {{Annotated link |Networked learning}}
• {{Annotated link |New media}}
• {{Annotated link |Online presence management}}
• {{Annotated link |Online research community}}
• {{Annotated link |Participatory media}}
• {{Annotated link |Psychological effects of Internet use}}
• {{Annotated link |Social influence bias}}
• {{Annotated link |Social media and psychology}}
• {{Annotated link |Social media in education}}
• {{Annotated link |Social media mining}}
• {{Annotated link |Social media optimization}}
• {{Annotated link |Social media surgery}}
• {{Annotated link |Social networking service}}
• {{Annotated link |The medium is the message}}

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Aral |first=Sinan |year=2020 |title=The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health—and How We Must Adapt |isbn=978-0-525-57451-4 |publisher=Currency}}
• {{cite book |last=Fuchs |first=Christian |year=2014 |title=Social Media: A Critical Introduction |publisher=Sage|location=London|author-link=Christian Fuchs (sociologist)|isbn=978-1-4462-5731-9}}
• Hou, Yubo, Dan Xiong, Tonglin Jiang, Lily Song, and Qi Wang. "Social Media Addiction: Its Impact, Mediation, and Intervention". Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 13, no. 1 (February 21, 2019). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2019-1-4.

{{Scholia|topic}}

{{Wikinews|New American Psychological Association guidelines: Parents should advise teenagers on social media use, impose restrictions}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Online social networking}}{{Computer-mediated communication}}{{Media culture}}

{{Authority control|state=expanded}}

Category:Collaborative projects

Category:Crowdsourcing

Category:News aggregators

Category:Social networks