The Evolution of Social Media
Social media has changed over the past 10 years and even longer ago. Not only have the actual sites and apps we use changed, but how people who use social media have changed. From friends to followers, from liking pictures to making sure we get the most likes, do we post now to share memories or do we post so our pictures fit our format and we get lots of comments?
Myspace
This edgy precursor to Facebook reigned supreme in the early 2000s. From 2005-2008, Myspace was the most visited social networking site in the world. During this time period, 75.9 million people visited the site on a monthly basis.
This social networking behemoth was founded in 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Growing rapidly, at its peak Facebook boasted 1.49 billion users daily which is over 20% of the world’s population.
Acquired by Facebook in 2012 for $1 Billion, Instagram was founded by 13 employees and 3 investors. Appealing to the younger generations, Instagram is an app centered around sharing pictures and following friends.
Social Media in 2018
But what does this all mean? What does it all mean that we left behind edgy Myspace for the formality of Facebook, and now, are leaving it for the eye catching Instagram? Myspace and Facebook were centered less around sharing pictures, and more about sharing what you thought or felt. Instagram is very different. It’s visceral and more about how the picture than the comment. And this subtle change, from sharing what we feel and are thinking to showing off how we look, reflects society’s changes in the real world.
How would you say Facebook has changed in the past 10 years
“I had Facebook when I was ten…wow”
“I don’t have the app on my phone, I don’t check it anymore and I used to be on it all the time, more than Instagram.”
“Facebook has become a cesspool of memes and other stupid things.”
(quotes from Noah Gansallo)
