2019 Social Media Trends and Analysis (Part 2)
Social media are interactive platforms where content is created, distributed, and shared by individuals on the web. Professors Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein of the ESCP European Business School define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content”. Social media websites and applications allow users to create and exchange user-generated content where people talk, share information, participate and network through technologies such as blogs and social networking sites. Within the last decade, social media has become one of the most powerful sources for news updates, online collaboration, networking, viral marketing, and entertainment. However, with the increasing number of social media platforms year by year, almost all social media platforms provide similar features to users. A comparison table for social media platforms (Chat and Instant Messenger Application) can be seen below:
By 2020, we’ll see the increased dominance of Instagram, especially among older demographics. “Instagram users are a lot older than people often imagine,” says Simon Kemp. “There are more 45 to 54-year-olds using Instagram than there are 13 to 17-year-olds.” Instagram will quickly evolve over the next few years and become the new home for brands. The way social media have been developing is quite fascinating. After Facebook was launched back in 2004, the way we are connected to the internet has changed ever since. According to TechJackie, trends in social media for 2020 and beyond can be viewed as follows:
As of July 2019, most of the social media platforms have been introducing new features in their apps, which allow users to fully experience the digital lifestyle. WhatsApp by Facebook will introduce Advertisements on WhatsApp; where the ads will be shown in its stories. Besides, WhatsApp also enhances the privacy settings for groups. This feature will allow users to be added to a WhatsApp Group only with consent. Under this feature, the users will get an invite every time they are added to a group with an option to either approve or decline within three days. Telegram by Telegram Inc. will introduce Location-Based Chats and Scam Alerts features. Location-based chats will allow users to chat with other Telegram users nearby and the scam alerts will show a scam label for suspicious accounts. WeChat by Tencent has made changes to its Moments feature which users can search and add song snippets from WeChat’s comprehensive music collection to the videos they shoot and share with your Moments.
In the conclusion, social media have the potential to evolve. Many of them are happening right now and we can clearly observe this, and the trend is rising as well. Some features, however, may be probable as with the popularity and huge investments into these platforms, the possibilities are endless. As more and more people depend on technologies and connections using the internet, social media will continue to evolve.