Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. Pinterest. YouTube. Vine. Tumblr. The list of various social media sites millions of people use every day goes on and on. But how has social media impacted our culture and when did it begin?
With 400 million tweets posted to Twitter and more than 40 million pictures uploaded onto Instagram every day, according to The Nielsen Company, modern-day social media has become more than a pastime — it’s a movement.
But once upon a time in cyber history, before all of the hype of a tweet, post, like and favorite, social media was quite simplistic. The first online social network began in the wake of the 1980s; created by Ward Christensen and Randy Suess, two members of the Chicago Area Computer Hobbyists’ Exchange, CBBS (Computerized Bulletin Board System) became the first interactive digital tool businesses used as a forum to post public messages.
A more personalized web experience did not come until 1994, when the Internet service Beverly Hills Internet (BHI) provided a service where users could construct their own town complete with chat room, gallery and personal page. These were later known as GeoCities. Fast forward to 1997, the year when blogging begins and America Online (AOL) offers a popular instant messaging feature. Two years later, the weblog and profile site Xanga reached 30 million users. Before the infamous MySpace, a social networking site called Friendster took over the internet scene in 2002, garnering over three million members in the first three months. After technical difficulties set Friendster behind, MySpace quickly filled the void and surpassed all expectations in 2003.
Initially only available to college students, in 2004, Facebook forever changed social media as we know it today. Mark Zuckerberg and some Harvard University classmates created the site on which users could post personal interests, pictures and status updates. Facebook became the most used global social network in 2009, with more than 200 million members.
Although Twitter was launched in 2006, within the past few years Twitter’s popularity has exceeded Facebook’s among younger generations, but Facebook still represents about 71 percent of adults online using it according to a Pew Social Media Study. According to Marketing Land, Twitter, a 140-character interface, is used by 32 percent of all Internet users and more than 50 percent of them use it through a mobile device.
“The sweeping, global integration of social media in everyday life and function is perhaps the most pronounced change [in society],” said York College communications professor Lowell Briggs.
While Facebook opened the floodgates to numerous social media sites, some specialize in specific things. Pinterest, Instagram, SnapChat, Tumblr and Flickr cater to photo sharing, whereas sites like YouTube and Vine are for sharing video clips. Then there are the major all-inclusive profile style sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
“The evolution of other social media identifiers provide specific functions which are finding a user platform and audience,” Briggs said. “More will follow to satisfy our demands of a market segment in our global community.”
Penn State sophomore Danae Taylor reflected on her social media experience saying, “Since I basically grew up on social media, I can’t really compare it to how my life was without it. I’m pretty much attached to my social media accounts.”
Nigel Ravida, a senior at Central York High School said, “[Social media] allows us to connect with people like never before, while also giving us the freedom to express our own personalities.”
In 2012, the Pew Research Center reported that 81 percent of teenagers used social media networks and three out of four visit them on a daily basis.
Not every teenager is a part of those statistics; Central York High School sophomore Kyle Varone said social media does not appeal to him.“I’m usually doing other things besides checking my [Facebook] page,” he said.
As for the future of social media, Briggs predicts: “What we are accustom to now will change dramatically with each passing year.” “We as communicators will learn more dynamic ways of engaging audiences, and continue to monitor what social media is doing to change communications patterns, for better or worse.”
