As a teenager, I tend to spend a lot of time on my phone. I mean, a lot. The same is true for the majority of my friends, classmates, and colleagues. This time is usually spent checking social media apps, such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, etc. In fact, I rarely use any other applications, excluding my email and music apps. However, sometimes I wonder, "Why is everyone so obsessed with these apps? Why am I obsessed with these apps? What has allowed them to have the influence they have today?"
I think the key to this question lies in social media's origins. Let's start at the beginning. It all began in 1997, when the first social media site was created. Called Six Degrees, it was an early form of the applications we know and love today. And, as blogging became more popular in the late 1990s, so did social media. In the early 2000s, we started to see more recognizable forms of social media, like MySpace, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Just in case you're unfamiliar with these sites, here is a brief explanation of each:
MySpace: Allows users to create a personal page (their "space") by uploading videos, embedding music, and specifying their interests and hobbies. Users can interact with others as well as blog on the site.
LinkedIn: A site where businesses and employment-seekers can post job applications, network, post resumes, and job experience.
YouTube: Users can post and watch videos made by other users. Users can subscribe to different users to support them, as well as like or dislike certain videos.
In 2006, two of the most popular social media sites were developed: Facebook and Twitter. Later, Tumblr, Spotify, and Pinterest grew into prominence as well. Again, here is a brief description of each site in case you are curious.
Facebook: Users can create accounts, "friend" other users, post text, videos, images, and other media. Users can also message "friends."
Twitter: Very similar to Facebook; users can "follow" other users, post "tweets" with text, images, and video, and can also share and like other users' "tweets."
Tumblr: Users can blog, post images, audio, quotes, and videos. Mainly used for microblogging (brief blog posts). Users can follow other blogs as well as share other users' posts, like Twitter.
Spotify: Users can make playlists, share music, and listen to music. Users can also "follow" other users and listen to their playlists.
Pinterest: Users post or "pin" pictures or collections of pictures to create a personal "board." Pinterest is often used to look for inspiration in wedding, baby shower, birthday party, etc. planning.
Right now, I would consider the most popular social media sites among Generation Z and Millennials to be TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Once again, here is a brief description of each.
TikTok: Users post brief (less than one minute) videos. Users can follow one another, as well as view a "For You" page, where videos are selected by the app's algorithm to appeal to users.
Instagram: Users can post images or brief videos accompanied with captions, as well as add to their personal "story," which disappears after 24 hours.
Snapchat: Users can "add" friends and send individual pictures or text to one another which disappears upon opening. They can also create group chats, as well as add to their personal "story," which disappears after 24 hours.
So, "Why is everyone so obsessed with these apps? Why am I obsessed with these apps? What has allowed them to have the influence they have today?" I believe the answer comes in two parts. One: Generation Z and Millennials grew up with these apps. The first social media site was developed before I was even born. Social media has always been a part of our lives. We've never known anything different. We use social media to communicate, show our interests, and share media because we grew up using it. Now, it would be wrong of me to claim that some of my peers don't spend way too much time on the internet. However, it's such a huge part of our lifestyle and has been for our entire lives, it's almost unnatural for us to refuse to use it. Again, I don't want to claim there's nothing better than scrolling through TikTok for hours at a time, but it is the way we express ourselves, receive information, and interact.
The second component deals with the versatility of social media. We can do so much online. We can share recipes, tutorials, spread information, display our creativity; the internet is not just for funny cat videos. Social media has been able to become so big because there are endless possibilities. That also means many teens, including myself, find it easy to browse for hours at a time. It's almost impossible to get bored, simply because of the sheer volume of content. This, coupled with the fact that our generation grew up along with the growth of social media, has allowed social networking apps to become the force they are today.
Hopefully, this article has led to some level of understanding of Generation Z and Millennials. As always, feel free to reach out with any and all questions, comments, and concerns. Thank you so much for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it!