Introduction to Internet and Social Media

Internet Phenomena

When ‘Internet phenomena’ is brought up in conversation, people get some idea of what it encompasses. For example, when people use social media or chatting apps, there are some words or terms that are only applicable in online settings, such as ‘TTYL’, or ‘BTW’. People tend to use the easiest or funniest ways to chat with others. Besides, the Internet has totally penetrated and changed people’s lifestyles. It is also said that those who use the Internet can deeply connect and communicate with others.

However, there are some negative aspects between then and now which involve the Internet. Before the prevalence of Internet connection, people used to read articles, news, or books in print. Nowadays, people are too reliant on the Internet. Furthermore, although the Internet provides a lot of information, it is often wise to question the credibility of such information. In short, the Internet-human dynamic is changing by the day.

News

In the modern world, the Internet and social media play a vital role in people’s daily life. With phones connected to the Internet, people can communicate with people across the globe, discover events on another continent, or watch a live performance with a swipe of our finger. Every second, countless information and data traverse the internet, and because of this phenomenon, the Internet and social media play a huge role in the news industry, where an exclusive news report will no longer be exclusive in a matter of seconds. The rise of Internet use and social media has definitely changed the news industry and its consumers’ habits.

From the 2009 Moldova civil unrest to the Egyptian revolution in 2011, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter all played a huge role in the success of these revolutions. In a more recent setting, during the 2016 US presidential election, social media also substantially influenced the outcome. To conclude, there is no doubt that using social media as a source of information is becoming more prevalent, but we should ponder on the impact that it will bring and the possible solutions and regulations that could be proposed.

Platform

The usage of social media has increased in these years. It’s getting harder to imagine the time Facebook or Instagram didn’t exist. Nowadays, people use these social platforms to connect to society. According to the article “ Which countries use social media more in 2020?,” the Philippines has the highest social usage rate in the world. As for which social platform has the most active users, it is Facebook.

Moreover, the demography will vary between different platforms. For instance, there are 51% of 13–17 year olds and 84% of 25–30 year olds who use Facebook in the US. On the other hand, there are 75% of 18–24 year olds use Instagram, but only 57% of 25–30 year olds use Instagram. It’s clear that Instagram has more younger users than Facebook. What’s more, people will choose different social platforms based on their location. For example, Chinese people use Weibo, but Taiwanese people tend to use Facebook and Instagram. Japanese people like to use Twitter instead of Instagram, and Korean people use Naver and Twitter, too. As for western countries, there are some different social platforms that they use, like Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.