Social Media as a means of Communicating with others and a source of Entertainment

What is Social Media?

Social media is any digital tool that allows users to quickly create and share content with the public. Social media encompasses a wide range of websites and apps. Some, like Twitter, specialize in sharing links and short written messages. Others, like Instagram and TikTok, are built to optimize the sharing of photos and videos.

To better understand the meaning of Social Media, let's separate the term "Social Media" into words and define them:

The 'social'' part: refers to interacting with other people by sharing information with them and receiving information from them.

The 'media' part: refers to an instrumient of communication, like the internet (while TV, radio, and newspapers are examples of more traditional forms of media). 

From these two separate terms, we can pull a basic definition together:

Social media are web-based communication tools that enable people to interact with each other by sharing and consuming information.

The term social media refers to a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through virtual networks and communities. Social media is internet-based and gives users quick electronic communication of content, such as personal information, documents, videos, and photos. Users engage with social media via a computer, tablet, or smartphone via web-based software or applications. 

Social Media as a means of Communicating with others and a source of Entertainment.

Social Media has brought communication and entertainment closer to our grasps. Through the use of  it with internet connectivity, we can easily talk to our loved ones even though they're hundreds of miles away from us. That's pretty convinient isn't? It is also the same with entertainment. With just one click, we can watch many entertaining videos  online. The world has become a great place and has improved a lot with the help of Social Media.

The latest figures show that there are 3.78 billion social media users worldwide in 2021—a five percent increase from a year ago. It is also 920 million more than the number of social users in 2017, which represents a whopping 32.2 percent jump in just five years.

           

                                              - as of January 2021

Here is the top 10 list of the most popular Social Media as of January 2021

1. Facebook (2.74 billion users)

2. YouTube (2.29 billion users)

3. WhatsApp (2 billion users)

4. Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion users)

5. Instagram (1.22 billion users)

6. Whatsapp (1.21 billion users)

7. TikTok (689 million users)

8. QQ (617 million users)

9. Douyin (600 million users)

10. Sino Weibo (511 million users)

Social Media as a means of Communicating with others.

Since the proliferation of social media, the ways we communicate have changed. The concept of communication had a lot of limitations to it; but with the rise of social media, the world is getting closer. Social media has not only found new ways of communication but also has reshaped the old ones. The rise of social media has changed the world’s perspective on communication. The increase in the speed of communication has created a sense of urgency and a need to share things among people, provided an inside perspective of faraway places, and made digital messages more personal. The traditional ways of communication have now been replaced by modern ones. 

Social media is a powerful communications medium, with widespread influence over cities as well as remote areas. However, it is only part of the digital revolution that we are witnessing. Digital transformation has not only influenced businesses and made the world more accessible, but it has also changed the way we communicate.

According to Oberlo, as of 2019, there are 3.2 billion social media users all around the world, which is about 42% of the Earth’s population. In addition, there are roughly 4.5 billion internet uses across the world today. These statistics are proof of the growing dominance of digital media in our daily lives.

Social media has taken over the business sphere, the advertising sphere and additionally, the education sector. It has had a long-lasting impact on the way people communicate and has now become an integral part of their lives. For instance, WhatsApp has redefined the culture of IMs (instant messaging) and taken it to a whole new level. Today, you can text anyone across the globe as long as you have an internet connection. This transformation has not only been brought about by WhatsApp but also Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. The importance of social media in communication is a constant topic of discussion.

Online communication has brought information to people and audiences that previously could not be reached. It has increased awareness among people about what is happening in other parts of the world. A perfect example of the social media’s reach can be seen in the way the story about the Amazon Rainforest fire spread. It started with a single post and was soon present on everyone’s newsfeed across different social media platforms.

Movements, advertisements and products are all being broadcasted on social media platforms, thanks to the increase in the social media users. Today, businesses rely on social media to create brand awareness as well as to promote and sell their products. It allows organizations to reach customers, irrespective of geographical boundaries. The internet has facilitated a resource to humankind that has unfathomable reach and benefits. 

Social media’s influence has given rise to a different genre of communication, where conversations are quick and information is easily relayed. Due to its widespread impact, employers are seeking professionals who are well-versed in social media platforms to take on important roles within an organization. In fact, social media as a business function is growing rapidly and presents a number of employment opportunities.

Social Media as a means of Entertainment

Consumers aged 13-24 spend 11.3 hours weekly watching free online video compared with 8.3 hours for regularly scheduled TV, according to a study conducted in the fall of 2014 by Hunter Qualitative Research commissioned by digital-media firm Defy Media.

Younger audiences watch more hours of video on YouTube and other digital outlets than TV — simply because they find it more enjoyable and relevant to their lives, according to a new study.

Social media has flourished with increasing digital connectivity. Internet users in the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates spend more than 3 hours per day on social media. Global social media platforms such as YouTube and WhatsApp as well as local ones such as Mxit, an instant messaging application in South Africa, and Odnoklassniki, the Russian version of Facebook, are attracting people's attention. They use social media for killing time or to just simply enjoy themselves.

Many people around the world regardless of age, gender, and social status - as long as they have internet connectivity - use social media as a source of Entertainment. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and especially TikTok, has made a huge impact in ones life. Many people uses these social media platforms to watch videos and enjoy themselves. For instance, watching funny videos on Facebook, watching tutorials on YouTube, or making Tiktok videos are just some of the various ways  on how people find entertainment on social media. 

Social Media is a a powerful tool that can influence a person's life. It is indeed without a doubt that with the help of it, life becomes better as we get to know what's happening aroun the world. But, in every spectrum, there's always the good and the bad side. Before sharing informations make sure to double check it to verify if it's a legitimate information. Beware of the scammers and protect your privacy by securing your accounts and being careful when clicking links. Lastly, social media helps us in a good way when it comes to  interacting with others as it helps in breaking communication barriers between two people or a group of people and it also gives us a variety of entertainment. But too much of everything is bad. So make sure to set limitations when using social media and be a responsible user.