What runs the world? Social media run the world.

Social media platforms run my life and I'm not afraid to admit it, mostly because I know I'm not alone. We are approaching a unique time where social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are becoming one-stop-shops for everything you could possibly need, from social interactions to news to entertainment, and everything in between. People are using social media platforms more, and for longer periods of time, than ever before.

Elgot (2015) wrote that it's beginning to look like Facebook users might be getting to a point where they “never have to leave the site to get their news” (para. 30), while Hughes & Wojcik (2019) cite a 2018 survey that says seven-in-ten adult Twitter users in the U.S. get their news from the site. Even with Twitter being less popular than Facebook, Hughes & Wojcik (2019) estimate one-in-five U.S. adults get news from the site.

What's so great about getting your news from a social media platform anyway? For one, many users access these sites via their smartphone, making it extremely easy to access as we know everyone carries that with them wherever they go. Round-the-clock access to these sites via modern technology has increased the demand for news, therefore putting additional pressure on content creators. Media companies have struggled to find a way to monetize social media platforms directly, despite them having a direct correlation to those additional pressures we discussed earlier. It's a vicious cycle that doesn't seem to have an end in sight!

References

Elgot, J. (2015, August 28). From relationships to revolutions: seven ways Facebook has changed the world. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/28/from-relationships-to-revolutions-seven-ways-facebook-has-changed-the-world.

Hughes, A. & Wojcik, S. (2019, August 2). 10 facts about Americans and Twitter. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/02/10-facts-about-americans-and-twitter/.