Social Media

Social Media: Definition, Evolution, Uses, Benefits, Risks, and Top Platforms

What is social media?

Social media comprises websites, apps, and online platforms that let people form networks and communities to share text, photos, videos, and other user-created content. Today more than five billion people—over half the world’s population—use social media for personal, professional, and commercial purposes.

Key takeaways

• Social media connects people and supports community building, entertainment, marketing, and news distribution.
• Platforms vary by format and purpose: social networks, microblogging, video sharing, messaging, forums, and professional networks.
• Benefits include connectivity, community formation, and low-cost advertising for small businesses.
• Risks include misinformation, sleep disruption, mental-health effects, and online child sexual exploitation.
• The largest global platforms include Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok.

Origins and evolution

Early services like MySpace and LiveJournal focused on personal profiles and journal-style sharing. Social media grew rapidly in the 2000s as platforms introduced aggregated feeds and interactive features (liking, sharing, commenting). Over time, platforms added business pages, targeted advertising, and tools for creators, transforming social media into a major channel for news, commerce, and entertainment. Many companies now own multiple platforms to reach different audiences.

How social media is used today

Platforms have diversified by format and purpose:
* Social networks: Facebook, Nextdoor
Microblogging: X (formerly Twitter), Mastodon, Threads
Long-form blogging/newsletters: Substack, Ghost
Professional networking: LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Behance
Photo/video sharing: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat
Visual discovery: Pinterest, Houzz
Messaging: WhatsApp, Signal, WeChat
* Community forums: Reddit, Discord

Common uses:
* Personal connection and community building (friends, hobbies, local groups).
Professional networking, recruitment, and industry discussion.
Marketing and customer engagement—businesses use social media for trend spotting, targeted ads, and influencer partnerships.
* Content creation and monetization—many people work as creators or influencers; a significant share of users identify as professional content creators.

Usage patterns:
* Most internet users visit multiple social platforms regularly; site-specific time varies by demographic.
* Social media has become a major news source for many users.

Benefits

Connectivity
* Enables real-time connection across distance and helps people find niche communities and local resources.

Community building
* Broadens personal networks and increases interactions across diverse social groups.

Affordable advertising and growth for small businesses
* Targeted ads and influencer marketing let small businesses reach audiences at comparatively low cost; millions of small businesses use social platforms for promotion.

Young people and connection
* Many teens report feeling more connected to friends through social media and view its impact positively.

Risks and harms

Misinformation
* Rapid sharing of content can spread false or misleading information, sometimes with real-world consequences for disaster response and public discourse.

Sleep and health impacts
* Heavy social media use, especially late at night, is associated with reduced sleep quality and related health risks.

Mental health concerns
* Greater use correlates with increased rates of anxiety and depression among some users, especially adolescents; cyberbullying and social comparison are contributing factors.

Online child sexual exploitation
* Social platforms can be used for grooming, harassment, and distribution of exploitative material, creating serious safety challenges for children and teens.

Public-health and safety bodies have called attention to these risks and advocated policy and design changes to reduce harm.

Top global platforms (approximate active users)

• Facebook — 3.07 billion
• YouTube — 2.53 billion
• WhatsApp — 2.0 billion
• Instagram — 2.0 billion
• TikTok — 1.59 billion
• WeChat — 1.38 billion
• Telegram — 950 million
• Facebook Messenger — 947 million
• Snapchat — 850 million
• Douyin — 766 million

(Note: rankings and user counts vary by source and change over time.)

The bottom line

Social media has fundamentally reshaped communication, news, business, and entertainment. It offers powerful tools for connection, community, and commerce but also poses significant social and safety challenges—most notably around misinformation, mental health, and child protection. Understanding platform differences, using privacy and safety settings, and promoting responsible design and regulation are key to maximizing benefits while mitigating harms.