Nowadays, individuals of any age utilize social media for various purposes ranging from simple interpersonal communications to political statements. People turn to online conversations in their daily lives due to the practicality and accessibility of platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Interactions become increasingly digitized as people find that the convenience of such spaces presents a uniquely liberating opportunity to meet others. The history and the current situation around social media indicate that these platforms will continue to expand and captivate new audiences further.
The emergence of this phenomenon can be attributed to the unique technological and social factors at the beginning of the twenty-first century. While there were attempts to create a digital space for communications in the 1990s, their scale was incomparable with modern tech giants’ efforts (Okunev, 2022). Even when computers were a novelty, forums and chat rooms began to appear and attract like-minded individuals, creating the first online communities. However, a revolutionary idea by Mark Zuckerberg of bringing together a variety of people on a single website led to the creation of Facebook and countless similar projects (Okunev, 2022). Since then, platforms that provided the most convenient features have grabbed significant portions of this emerging technology.
The growth of social media became possible with mass access to the Internet, which linked people across the globe together. Smartphones, Wi-Fi, 5G, and other innovations make digital chats more convenient than ever. Businesses followed this trend, further expanding the industry into a multi-billion market. As the history of social media reveals, companies strive to captivate a portion of online users through features and value propositions. Such a concentration of individuals drives organizations to develop new ways of interacting with customers while people congregate around common interests naturally and freely. However, this form of communication did not come without adverse consequences to humanity, as both children and adults may experience anxiety and stress due to their need for constant connectivity (Okunev, 2022). Despite this shortcoming, more people sign new accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and other websites daily, boosting these companies’ attraction further.
There are no signs of social media disappearing or being replaced by any other form of communication in the future. In fact, such platforms have already turned into an essential part of humans’ lives. Younger generations become tech-savvy at in early age and receive a significant portion of their life experiences, including relationships, education, and business connection, through online platforms (Okunev, 2022). This tendency bounds society with social media even further, creating communities that live in a digital environment. Ideas will be broadcasted openly and freely, as humankind will eventually turn the online space that currently belongs to corporations into a public space.
In conclusion, social media facilitates interaction between individuals, government entities, and businesses, making it an essential part of humanity in the digital era. Throughout its history, this form of communication was presented as an opportunity to find like-minded people across the globe, bringing countries closer together. This environment rapidly evolves to fit technological and societal progress into a unified framework that promotes freedom of speech and democracy. In the future, social media will grow into a unified platform for personal and professional communication., as it shows no signs of reducing its reach. The lives of younger generations are captivated by social media entirely, ensuring that this technology will continue its transformation, making it impossible to predict the exact trajectory of its development.
Reference
Okunev, R. (2022). The psychology of evolving technology: How social media, influencer culture, and new technologies are altering society. Apress.