Early forms of social media emerged with the PLATO system in 1960, offering features like message forums and instant messaging. The ARPANET, coming online in 1969, enabled the exchange of ideas, evidenced by network etiquette described in a 1982 handbook. The 1990s saw the integration of HTML software with the Internet by Tim Berners-Lee, leading to an explosion of blogs and forums.
The first online service designed for people to connect using their actual names was SixDegrees.com, launched in the mid-1990s. Platforms like BlackPlanet preceded Friendster and Myspace, followed by Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter in the early 2000s. By 2023, as many as 4.76 billion people used social media, representing 59% of the global population.
Social media services are defined by four key features: Web 2.0 Internet-based applications, user-generated content, user-created profiles, and social networks formed by connections between profiles. Merriam-Webster defines social media as forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information and content.
Social media encompasses a wide range of services, including blogs, business networks, collaborative projects, forums, microblogs, photo sharing, products/services review, social bookmarking, social gaming, social networks, video sharing, and virtual worlds. Some services offer more than one type of service.
The advent of mobile devices distinguished mobile social media by its ubiquity, allowing users to participate regardless of location. Andreas Kaplan categorized mobile social media activities into space-timers, space-locators, quick-timers, and slow-timers.
Certain content has the potential to spread virally, analogous to the spread of infections. Viral marketing campaigns can achieve widespread advertising coverage at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing. Social media sites provide functionality to help users re-share content, such as likes and shares.
Automated programs called bots operate on the internet, automating communication tasks. These bots can mimic human interactions, and have been used for marketing, but can also violate platform terms of use. ‘Cyborgs’—humans assisted by bots—can spread fake news or create marketing buzz.
Social media platforms have increasingly adopted functionality beyond their original scope. For example, Facebook launched an integrated video platform in 2007, and Instagram incorporated features from Snapchat, such as stories. X adopted photo and video sharing, while Reddit added an image hoster and video hosting service.
In 2022, around 3.96 billion people were using social media globally, up from 3.6 billion in 2020. A 2015 study reported that users spent 22% of their online time on social networks.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media use increased as people sought to stay socially connected and access information. Healthcare workers and systems recognized social media as a source of health information, though also a source of disinformation.
Social media has been criticized for a range of negative impacts, including exposure to inappropriate content, sleep problems, and mental health maladies. Journalist Maria Ressa deemed it "toxic sludge" for increasing distrust among members of society. Algorithms that prioritize engagement often favor content that spurs negative emotions.
Governments may use social media to inform public opinion, interact with citizens, foster participation, analyze public opinion, educate the public, and monitor activities. Law enforcement uses social media for investigations, searching for missing persons, and engaging with the public.
Businesses use social media for marketing, branding, advertising, customer communication, sales promotions, and recruiting. Social media monitoring tools help businesses track conversations and analyze trends.
Politicians use social media to spread messages and influence voters. Social media also played a role in the Arab Spring in 2011.
Regulations vary by region. In the United States, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act exempts internet platforms from legal liability for content authored by third parties. The European Union enacted the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act to address issues like illegal content and market dominance. Australia passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, banning people under 16 from using most social media platforms.