Today, we live in a Digital Era. Due to the advancements in communication technology, the whole world is coming closer. Emails, cell phones, instant messaging, chat applications, SMS, etc. are some of the elements of the 21st century’s communication model. An important category in these is Social Media. One thing we can say for sure about social media is that it has taken over our lives.
A few years back in 2010, around 3.7 million of the Indian population was on social media. Today, it has increased to almost 376.1 million. Also, It is projected it to be 447.9 million by 2023. In the world, around 50% of people use social media while the average person spends 2.4 hours per day on social media.
How People Spend Time On Social Media?
We have researched the ways people spend time on social media:
1. News
Around 60% of people say that they are constantly connected to social media. The primary reason is getting the latest global & local news.
2. Connections
Around 65% of social media users say that they use social media to connect with their friends and families. Half of them say they connect with old friends and relatives.
3. To Kill Monotony
“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. In today’s fast-paced and busy world, everyone needs a break from their boring routine. People use social media to browse a variety of content related to fun and entertainment.
4. Sharing
Social media is all about sharing and people like to share photos, videos, and let the world know what they are up to.
5. Selling
Entrepreneurs & Businesses are selling their products through social media and is reaching to a wider audience. Recently, this strategy helped a lot during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
6. Following Influencers
Many people are on social media to follow influencers & their idol. Influencers are people who have developed strong credibility in a certain niche. They have a huge number of followers and frequent posting habits on social media.
7. Learning
The best example under this category is LinkedIn. It is the most famous platform for professionals and entrepreneurs. LinkedIn Learning offers a variety of courses in different domains.
Different Elements Of Social Media:
– Modes:
1. Feeds
This is one of the most common modes in the social media world. You can post a text, picture, or video and share it with the world.
2. Stories
Apps like Facebook and Instagram offer something called ‘Stories’. These are short narrative sequences of photos and videos with some effects that disappear after 24 hours. It is a quick way to share your latest creation or current activity with the world.
3. IGTV
An interesting video platform from Instagram is IGTV. It allows the sharing of larger videos in an efficient way. It is also available on the website, in addition to the app.
4. Microblogging
This involves broadcasting short messages to the public. The best example is Twitter. These sites update on a per-minute basis unlike blogging sites.
5. Live Streaming
All the social media apps offer a “live” feature through which you can go live and communicate with your followers. It is a good way to interact with your audiences in real-time.
– Privacy: Rising Of Private Social Media Platforms
This is the most important element in social media. The main settings under privacy are public and private. All the social media apps offer this setting and give you a choice to decide post privacy.
But sometimes, it happens that your privacy is compromised on these popular and mainstream social media platforms. To tackle this, many entrepreneurs are coming up with new social media platforms that do not compromise your privacy. These include Minds, Sociall.io, Ello, Diaspora, etc.
Healthy Habits While Using Social Media:
If we are not too careful about the use of social media, we may get overwhelmed by it and this may have a significant impact on our mental and physical health. Here are a few healthy habits to keep in mind while using social media:
1. Set a Time Limit
It is easy to get carried away once you open and start browsing on social media, but you need to set a time-limit. For example, commit yourself to use social media between specific periods.
2. Set a Goal
Instead of allowing yourself to drift away in aimlessly browsing stuff on social media, set a goal or purpose before interacting with the app. Do you have something important to share with your friends and families?
3. Follow People OR Communities That Bring You A Joy
Do not follow everyone that you come across on social media. Be intentional and follow only those people or organizations that can add some value in your life or make you happy.
4. Take Frequent Breaks
Do not become a social media addict. Your eyes and mind require a break from all the ‘screens’ and social media world. If you do not have anything to do, indulge in your favourite hobby.
5. Focus on the real world
In the end, the real world matters. Social media is kind of a virtual world. Focus on real-life friends and relatives too. Meet them in person whenever possible.
Conclusion
People interact with social media in a variety of different ways. It helps to carry out the objectives of sharing, learning, interacting, marketing, and much more. If used properly, social media can be a powerful weapon to voice your opinion, connect with a wider audience, create an online business, etc. But if we get carried away, it will prove to be a problem.
Social media is also being used to spread rumours and this is causing problems not only on a personal level but also in the political landscape. Hence, considering all these factors, we need to have a sensible balance on our social media habits and use them to make our lives easier and friendlier.
