This blog post looks at the background of the growth of social media, its social and political influence, and the changes in problems caused by its openness.
Introduction
Currently, the most popular web service is undoubtedly social media (SNS). Compared to existing web-based social media, SNS has become popular for its convenience and openness, and has become a part of users’ daily lives. With the recent spread of smartphones, the impact of SNS has increased, and it has played a significant role as a marketing tool for companies, as a means of communication between individuals, and as a means of communication with the public in the fields of politics and entertainment. However, it is also true that this openness is causing various problems.
The concept of social media
Social media is an online platform that allows users to freely communicate, share information, and expand their network to form and strengthen social relationships. Representative examples include Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram, each of which provides services in its own unique way. In the early days, it was mainly used via PCs, but as smartphones became more widely used and social media became mobile, conversations that were previously exchanged via text messages on mobile phones moved to social media, and the number of users and the time spent on the service are steadily increasing. David Kirkpatrick’s book The Facebook Effect states that “Facebook is based on the basic human instincts. Everyone has an instinct to belong, a little vanity, and a certain amount of voyeurism.” This gives us a glimpse of the popularity of Facebook.
If we broaden the definition of social media, it can also include existing blogs and communities that allowed users to contact each other and share information. However, considering the time when the term social media was first used and when it began to change people’s lives and exert social influence, it is reasonable to view the current social media as a type of social media. There are also various types of social networking services (SNS), including profile-based services represented by Facebook and microblogging services represented by Twitter. Most services adopt a somewhat different approach to differentiate themselves, but we will focus on the two services that have the largest number of users and are clearly differentiated, and compare and analyze them.
Features of Facebook
Facebook is an open community, and content can only be shared with friends. However, it is easy to create a page, and anyone who is set as a friend can view personal information and content updates. It is easy to use and open, and thanks to these characteristics, it is highly adaptable to mobile, boasting the largest number of active users in the world. In addition, it is actively used by companies for marketing because it has a large user base and it is easy to understand the level of favorability through the “Like” function.
Features of Twitter
Unlike traditional blogs, Twitter delivers short, fragmented content (within 140 characters) to users interested in that content in real time. As a result, Twitter is more like a messenger. Unlike Facebook, it allows users to follow each other without having to accept friend requests, which gives it greater openness and anonymity, and as a result, enables the rapid spread of information and feedback.
Advantages of Facebook and Twitter
Blogs and cafes, which used to serve as existing social media, are gradually being pushed out of the competition with social media. The main reasons why social media have emerged as the main players in this competition are as follows.
First, it is highly adaptable to mobile. The currently popular social media platforms have simpler pages than traditional social media, allowing for seamless use anytime and anywhere via mobile, which is a great advantage in modern society where people want to constantly communicate and connect with others.
Second, the simple service form reduces the burden on users when delivering content. In general, blogs post in-depth content or content with detailed photos, which can be a barrier to users. However, on social media, you can easily express your thoughts on an issue or your daily life, which can easily satisfy your desire to express yourself.
Third, these advantages make it easy and quick to get a response to your content via mobile. This leads to true social networking, and the speed of this is significantly different from that of existing social media. This is similar to the rapid spread of high-speed Internet in the mid-1990s, when email, which was used as a means of personal communication, was gradually used only for business purposes, and faster and easier Internet messengers took its place.
Expansion of SNS functions
At its core, social media is about promoting friendship and expanding one’s network through communication and information sharing between individuals. Communication is centered on personal relationships, such as with acquaintances, family members, and people with similar interests. However, as the number of service users increases and the speed of information transmission accelerates, social media is being used for various purposes beyond its original functions. Here are some examples of this.
Social Media Marketing Examples
The speed of information delivery and the immediate response of social media have become essential elements of corporate marketing. In addition, the value of using social media for marketing is increasing day by day because it is possible to deliver customized information directly to the target group of marketing and it is inexpensive.
The ‘Levi`s iSPY’ event was a way to give away jeans if a model informed his/her location in real time via a mobile phone, and Twitter users who followed the model shared the location and found the model. 300,000 people participated in this event in Australia, and it achieved great publicity at a low cost. Samsung gained publicity by exposing positive comments about its products through a comment event that gave away laptops, and YES24 increased page visits and access time through a photo event. These methods have the advantage of being able to spread information quickly and widely at low cost, so various events are still being held.
Politicians and entertainers are socialites who receive a lot of attention from society. Politicians need to constantly expose themselves to win an election, and entertainers need to do so to be popular. They actively use social media for promotion because they can easily reach hundreds of thousands of people through social media and show a more friendly side of themselves than they would in an official setting. There is much debate about the pros and cons of this, but it can be said that its influence is considerable, as most politicians and celebrities use social media.
In addition, social media is used in many other areas. In the public sector, social media is used to promote policies and accept complaints, and by disclosing the process of resolving complaints, it has the effect of enhancing the image of the organization. In addition, social commerce, which is e-commerce using social media, is gaining popularity by applying large discounts and spreading them through social media, and social media is also being used in games as an element to add fun.
Problems caused by the impact of social media
While there are many advantages and positive use cases mentioned above, various problems are also emerging due to its influence and openness. Due to the nature of social media, very little information is posted, and this is delivered to an unspecified number of people in real time, so unconfirmed facts are easily spread and spread without filtering.
Typical problems include personal attacks such as “witch hunts” and “digging up dirt,” indiscriminate spread of unconfirmed false facts and information, and causing social unrest by producing a lot of uncomfortable issues. The spread of false information through unilateral claims and attacks by netizens, such as the assault on a pregnant woman at Chae Seondang and the terrorist attack on a food court, led to the disclosure of personal information and economic and psychological damage along with criticism on social media. In addition, a new type of crime rumor spread indiscriminately and rapidly through social media, claiming that people are being fed anesthetics called ethyl ether under the guise of selling dried seafood and then selling their organs, causing social unrest among the public.
As criticism of these problems has grown, various discussions are underway to address them, and self-regulation by users is also taking place. It is hoped that positive changes will be made through these processes.
Changes and Outlook of the Social Media Market
To solve the problem of users getting bored due to the limitations of content, various social media companies around the world are seeking changes to retain users by linking with various applications such as games or providing elements that arouse users’ interest by making the most of the characteristics of each page. In addition, various models are being developed to generate revenue, such as advertisements on webpages and the sale of items such as emoticons and gift cards, and the age group using social media is also expanding. Therefore, the social media market is expected to continue to grow in the future.
