Social Media Rules the World

With nearly 3 billion people using social media, it is no secret that it has changed the world.

Prior to the launch of Facebook (2004), the average American’s day-to-day life looked much different than it does today in three ways:

  1. News – In 2002, 61% of Americans got their news from the newspaper. Compare that to today, where a majority of Americans get their news from Internet sources (33% from news websites and 20% from social media).
  2. Socialization – Pew Research Center found that more than 4 in 10 Americans used instant messaging – the forerunner of social media – across various platforms in 2004.
  3. Business – As with news and socialization, businesses operated much differently prior to social media. Billboard, newspaper and television used to be the most common forms of advertising. In 2019, however, businesses are expected to spend $93 billion on social media advertising. With nearly 3.5 billion active users on social media, companies understand how they can benefit from tapping into it and reaching their audiences.

The average online social life has grown much further than “DMs” (direct messages – formerly known as instant messaging). Today, people frequently use social networks to meet strangers, get rides from strangers and sometimes even take care of strangers’ houses and belongings.

Social media and technology continue to rule our world and evolve rapidly.

For instance, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is currently searching for a way to connect the human brain to smartphones.

Mark Zuckerberg and scientists from the University of California, San Francisco are working on a think-to-type computer system that would allow people to type via thought. Who knows what will be commonplace 10 years from now?

There’s no telling how new inventions will change our news consumption, personal and professional socialization and business practices in the years ahead. But in the meantime, we can benefit from adapting to and staying on top of the changes that occur.

After all, Retired US Army Chief of Staff, General Eric Shinseki says it best: “If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.”

Stay up-to-speed with the rapidly changing social media world with our Digital and Social Media Team’s blog posts.

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