“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)”
Within this definition we can identify countless contenders for inclusion in the market but probably they all come within the following broad categories (with the better-known examples shown):
- Social Networks (Facebook, Linked In)
- Bookmarking sites (Pinterest, Flipboard, Pocket, StumbleUpon)
- Social News sites (Delicious, Digg, Reddit)
- Image Sharing (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Flickr, Pinterest)
- Video Hosting (YouTube, Vimeo)
- Microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook)
- Social Discussion Forums (Tripadvisor, Amazon, Trust Pilot)
- Sharing Sites (AirBnb, Freecycle, Gumtree)
- Like Interest sites (Tindr, Grindr, erotica)
What do they each do?
Let’s look at these in turn, bearing in mind that I have only given the more popular examples among the thousands available.
Social Networks (Facebook, Linked In)
Social networking is all about keeping in touch with friends, relations and work colleagues and being able to share information with them that you think might be of interest. Facebook has actually turned into a catch all site for sharing almost anything from comments, pictures, jokes, web links and - sadly - vitriol. What started as a fairly benign facility has unfortunately become a platform for weirdos, extremists and rabble rousers. But just like libraries, where you don’t have to read a book you don’t want to, there is no written rule that says you have to read every Facebook post that is shared. The trouble is that Facebook manipulates what users will see by the use of algorithms that analyse what you have previously “clicked upon” and presents you with more of the same. Somewhat akin to the library putting all the books they want you to borrow right inside the door. Notwithstanding this major criticism of Facebook, it can if used sensibly be a tremendous way to keep in touch with friends and relatives.
Bookmarking sites (Pinterest, Flipboard, Pocket, StumbleUpon)
We are used to setting bookmarks on web browsers for sites we regularly go to. Bookmarking sites take this one stage further by providing a repository for our sites and pages of interest. These sites can either be private or they can be used for others to see what you are interested in or recommend.
Social News sites (Delicious, Digg, Reddit)
These sites allow you to share news items with friends. Like bookmarking sites, they can and are usually shared with others and such sites are searchable.
Image Sharing (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Flickr, Pinterest)
As the name implies these sites are where you let other people view photographs and images that you have either produced yourself or are passing on from someone else. Of all the social media sites these have probably come in for the most criticism - especially where young people are concerned - as they have been the focus of illegal activity, child abuse and harassment. Some of the sites enable the sharing of short videos most of which it has to be said are of a banal quality!
Video Hosting (YouTube, Vimeo)
More serious video sharing is handled by these sites of which YouTube is by far the most popular. YouTube is a veritable gold mine of anything you want to view and acts as an historical encyclopedia of past and current events. Type in anything in the YouTube search box and you can find a film about it. Try “How to wrap a parcel” or “Sweeping a chimney”or “Musical instruments during WW1”.
Microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook)
I have written before about blogs (see my article on blogging). Blogs are sites for would-be authors to write about anything they wish. Blogs can run to many pages and can build up into an archive of articles. (Just like MyTechTips in fact). Often, however, you may have something that you want to say that doesn’t run to or require a long article and for this we have Microblogging sites like Twitter which have limitations on the number of words you can include in any one post.
Social Review and Discussion Forums (Tripadvisor, Amazon, Trust Pilot)
These sites are fairly self-explanatory and are well known - even by those people who will say they never use social media!
Sharing Sites (AirBnb, Freecycle, Gumtree)
Similarly, sharing sites bring out the best in people by appealing to their altruism and spirit of neighbourliness. They enable us to help out others with items, facilities and so on. Quite a number of Facebook Groups now service this aspect of social sharing.
Like Interest sites (Tindr, Grindr, erotica)
Lastly there are sites that specifically cater for the more unusual and offbeat interests. I leave your imaginations to wander as you wish!
So what’s the harm?
There is no doubt that Social Media in its various forms has achieved global popularity on a scale that could hardly have been imagined just 20 years ago. It has brought people together, shrunk geographical distances and provided a platform for self-expression with a global reach.
What users don’t always understand is that the phenomenon has turned the whole business model of the internet upside down. Users are no longer the customer of the media sites, they are the sites’ very source material. Even though photos, comments, videos etc remain the users’ Intellectual Property (IP), users may not realise that by signing up to the Terms and Conditions of Facebook they implicitly “grant [Facebook] a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on…”.
Users can, of course, restrict the distribution of material to a selected audience by changing their privacy settings. However there is nothing to stop any recipient or reader of a user’s material from re-publishing it without such limitations. The golden rule therefore when posting anything on a social media site is that “what goes onto the internet stays on the internet.”
Unlike newspapers, both printed and online, information on social media is not subject to any checks for veracity or any sanction for inaccuracies. With the national press there is recourse to law in the event of libel, lies and falsehood. At the very least publications can be required to print retractions and corrections. Social media does not have the same constraints and the biggest victim of the internet is truth. Given that (as previously described) social media algorithms tailor what users see according to what they have looked at before, lies and inaccuracies are bound to proliferate. “Truth” becomes what you have been conditioned to believe. Whilst it is true that clear libel expressed online can be challenged in law the social media business is renowned for being fairly loosely regulated. An untruth perpetuated across social media can quickly become an established “fact” and lead to all manner of public outcries and demonstrations.
During the current COVID lockdown, social media has certainly come into its own in enabling people to keep in touch with family and friends. But it has also brought with it new harms related to online harassment, child abuse and viciously cruel rudeness. Young girls especially, concerned about image and fashion have literally been driven to suicide by the cruelty displayed online. Adults are not immune to problems. Every day brings a new press revelation about someone’s life being overturned as a result of something said on social media. They may not themselves even have been the publisher of the material that has got them into trouble. This social media today has a lot to answer for.
So should we stop using it?
Despite the risks inherent in social media today I would argue that the benefits still by far outweigh them. They provide world-wide connectivity, reduce isolation, bring like minds and interests together and serve as a platform for self-expression that would otherwise go unheard or read. They offer a limitless source of entertainment for the casual internet surfer and a readily available solution to everyday problems and difficulties.
However, the onus is on users to recognise the potential dangers and use social media sites carefully and thoughtfully.