Social media is a technology that has no historical analogues in terms of distribution speed. The first social network appeared in 1995; it was the Classmates.com portal, where you could find your classmates or colleagues. By the way, the network exists today.
Nowadays about half of the world’s population uses social networks.
The research has shown that the personal feeling of happiness is related with communication, and social networks turned out to be just the way to interact with people out of any limitations. They also help coordinate collective actions, allowing you to be actively engaged in volunteering or political activities. During the quarantine period, social and entertainment applications became a salvation for many people who found themselves in forced and unusual isolation from society. Social apps helped people find new connections, communities of interest and, as a result, not fall into depression from a long stay indoors.
The market for social and entertainment applications has grown unusually over the past two years, thanks to the high demand. Even at the end of the quarantine period, people do not leave behind the applications that have become their favorite free-time activity. There is much to say about the Internet and telephone addiction, but the fact that it has become a new form of communication is undeniable. The top of the industry line is taken by AI projects that allow to build a new form of relationship with an AI person. For the young people it becomes a safe and friendly platform to test their communication skills, as we can see at the Social Discovery Group Lab project, called Journey AI.
Social media is the basis of the culture of the 21st century. Social applications are replacing the old institutions of social involvement, such as school and even friends’ groups, because they provide all the information young people need, and, most important, the feeling of being in real time and socializing.
Along with that, social media can help during the learning process. Through social media you can exchange lecture notes, laboratory research and other useful information and discuss your issues with other members of the group. There is also an opportunity to join the community on a certain subject and study in detail the issues on history or improve your foreign language knowledge. For that purpose social networks have links to the special literature, photo and video files.
Social networks are a platform for business development as well. Here you can place the advertising of your online store, photo studio or music school. You can schedule Ads to go live on specific time, when more audience are available. To schedule Ads you can opt for buffer alternatives to know which scheduling tools are more likeable in markets. Ads will be shown to the target audience and people who might be interested in the products or services you provide will get to know about your business. Thanks to social media you can find new customers and increase the loyalty of regular ones. Social networks provide the opportunity to use a large amount of information, develop, improve yourself and earn money.
The main reason for the rise of social media among young people is that in the virtual space they can easily overcome the psychological barrier, to find new friends and like-minded people without experiencing any discomfort that they often face in real life. We can observe this in Magnet, a project of Social Discovery Group Lab, where at the initial stage, instead of photos, users create their avatars based on selfies and add short statements about their interests and hobbies. If users like each other, they get access to real photos and start their relationship journey. That app really helps young adults, who are shy or uncomfortable about their appearance. Social networking for young people is primarily a way of self-expression and self-realization in society, since virtuosity can guarantee a person anonymity, and therefore freedom of thought.
