Status Update: Is Social Media Dominating Our Lives?

According to BusinessInsider.com, there are more devices connected to the internet than people on Earth.

Daily use of social media is becoming increasingly prevalent in our society. According to the Huffington Post, 94% of teens ages 12 to 17 actively use the internet. Of that percentage, 81% use social media sites, websites and applications used for social networking. So, why is the internet so appealing to teenagers? Through social media sites, teens are able to connect with their family and friends by posting pictures and status updates. They are also able to follow celebrities, sports teams, and television shows. In the United States, 16 minutes out of every hour are spent on social networking. The most popular sites include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pintrest, Google+ and Ask.fm. In a world where social media dominates our lives, different social media companies must compete to hold the average user’s attention.

When asked which social network is the most popular among our age group, Senior Dante Bosnic favors Twitter while Freshman Camryn Hak prefers Instagram. Bosnic likes Twitter because he believes it is quick and easy to check and update. On the other hand, Hak considers Instagram the most popular social networking site for high school students because “almost every teenager has an account, even if they don’t use it.” Social media in general has become so popular in our society that the average user goes on at least once or twice a day. Bosnic finds himself checking his Twitter feed “at least 50 times a day” and Hak checks her Instagram notifications daily.

When asked about Facebook, the two discarded it as only a fad.  Hak said, “Facebook is definitely currently going down the same drain that MySpace is at the bottom of.” Despite this belief, Facebook is still the most popularly used social networking site in the world. YouTube takes 2nd place, Twitter takes 3rd, and Instagram falls behind in 16th place, according to the Social Networking Watch. Although Twitter and Instagram are the most popular social media sites for teens and preteens, Facebook remains on top because it is one of the most effective ways that companies reach their target customers. Advertising is one of the main reasons teens have turned away from Facebook, while companies are turning towards Facebook for this exact reason.

Another social media sensation is Vine, a video-sharing app created by Twitter. This app allows users to record 6 second videos and share them with their friends. In order to compete with the video-sharing app, Instagram launched its own video sharing software. With this update, Instagram was able to regain its place above Vine. In response, Vine created a “revine” button which allows users to share and repost videos that they like in order for their followers to see them. Vine was also able to regain its popularity through this relatively simple action.

As marketing expert Charlene Li once said, “social media [is] like air. It is everywhere and anywhere.” It is nearly physical impossible to go through life without some type of interaction with social media. The rapid progression of social networking makes us question what the future will hold.