- 31/05/2021
- Category: Commentaries
Ever since the era of social media arrived in the past ten years, we have witnessed tremendous changes and revolution in almost every corner of our lives. Social media in the beginning aimed at connecting people and breaking the boundaries in communication. Turns out, what it brought to the table implicates much more than just the way people communicate. Industries, economic activities, social interactions, mental health, even politics have been permeated by the unstoppable advent of the so-called most decisive innovation mankind has ever invented.[i] Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn continued to elevate their game in the much more connected environment where everyone relies on their smartphones and internet. In 2017, the social media game has been introduced to a bigger stage, where people start to scrutinize the ways social media has taken conclusive roles. Two areas are noticeably receiving spotlights for their extensive induction of social media utilization; they are the innovation and economy sector and the mental health sector. Reflecting on what has changed in these areas in 2017, we can then derive certain expectations for what to come in the upcoming year on social media.
On Innovation and the New Economy
Innovation, as we know it, has always been evolving and it is not quite possible to fully curb them. In social media, there were a lot of talks on what innovations, particularly on the economy that might dominate in 2017; and some of them were true. Altogether, these innovations thriving in 2017 have more or less contributed to the ways social media have shaped the economic landscape of the new economy.[ii] The utilization of social media in economy relies on the attention people pay to the information published on social media. Innovation is what drives people come to use social media, as people begin to get attracted to features offered in social media – powered by innovation.[iii]
According to Jeff Desjardins, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Visual Capitalist, there are three ways social media innovations are taking roles in shaping the new-economy in 2017. They are the democratization of information, platform economy, as well as the new ecosystems.[iv] The democratization of information refers to the phenomenon in which information swarm freely on the internet, and that everyone can utilize this information to brand and promote themselves. Big companies no longer become the sole priority when people look for the clothes they want to buy, for example. People look for recommendations and event products advertised on social media, and everyone can build and extend their business through social media. The second one, platform economy, mainly talks about the ways social media platforms and digital industry have become the media where advertisements are hugely invested in. Facebook and Google attracted around 84% of the global digital ad market in 2017,[v] and the number only adds to the assurance that the digital ad market will only become reliant to these two tech giants. Meanwhile, new ecosystems continue to grow amidst the dominance of Google, Apple, and other giant tech companies in many economic sectors. The strong footings of dominating social media platform provide strong foundational bases for people to build their own brand of off. A recent visual map of social media universe showcases that today there are more than 200 platforms offering around 30 different areas of services in 2017, a significant growth from around 80 social media platforms in over 21 areas of services in 2008.[vi] This underlines how well social media provides new opportunities for new businesses.
Among these changes social media brought to the economy in 2017, several notable innovations can be noted that boosted their strong presence in 2017. If we relate these innovations to the pattern of the new economy, innovations in social media will only build a broader audience as well as attract more attentions. Among other, these noteworthy innovations include AI and ephemeral content. The technology of AI in Snapchat and Instagram filters have gained insights for being interactive and engaging throughout the whole years, with Instagram Stories users have reached 100 million within two months of its release.[vii] Facebook was reported to be investing a lot in AI since 2016, with their tests on Selfie Lenses took wide recognition.[viii] Investment in AI also tripled in 2017.[ix] Talking about Instagram Stories, they have been putting ephemeral contents as one of the front-runners in the social media trend this year. Ephemeral content, known as the contents that disappear in a certain period of times (e.g. 24hr), has gained reasonable fame this year. This fact that most people take a million photos every year but also easily forget them makes features in Snapchat and Instagram Stories interactive and engaging.[x] These contents are in fact among the most compelling in social media marketing these days.[xi]
On Mental Health
Mental health gains significant attentions in 2017, as information and news around devastating cases of cyberbullying, online hatred and even suicidal acts had notoriously received huge attentions. The degree of the coverage over concerns on mental health can be felt even more when mainstream popular acts, like TV and music.[xii] Sadly, social media has been accused of being the main culprit. We can see here that social media does not only elevate more chances of encountering economic opportunities but also put severe challenges on mental health issues. This issue pretty much highlights 2017.
A recent publication in 2017 inspired many to reflect on the use of social media, especially in regards to mental health. It was reported that Instagram was the worst social media for mental health.[xiii] People who spend two or more hours on social media every day are more prone to psychological distress. Depression, anxiety, feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out), self-esteem, and body issues have largely been lingering around social media and have attracted discussion in 2017.[xiv] A recent report also underlined the decline in mood felt by people who consume information on social media, as comparisons, disappointments, and self-hatred follow shortly after.[xv] Representatives of Facebook have also noted that Facebook and some other social media platforms more or less have contributed to depressive and anxious symptoms that are currently on the rise,[xvi] while the millennials are the generation that is reported to be hit severely by social media regarding mental health and self-esteem.[xvii]
Interestingly, recent research has also surged on the good sides, or the benefits, of social media. A study of 1.910 Facebook users showed that association of Facebook use and daily activities signalled positive relationships, where a deeper connection with social media prompt people to feel good and even engage in social activities. It is argued that feelings erupted from genuine connection and interaction on Facebook can starkly be positive and encouraging too.[xviii] The type of communication forged and the strength of the ties and relationships play a bigger role in determining users’ mental health. Another compelling study also reported that negative effects of social media association might be true to some people, but in the bigger picture, this does not necessarily be positively correlated.[xix] The finding continues with the fact that ‘traditional’ social interactions, like real friends and family relationships, come out on top as the ones that matter the most when it comes to mental health. People who already have steady and good in-life relationships with the ones who matter the most to them reported to be less affected by what happens on social media. This means, there are other more meaningful factors contributing to mental well-being. This finding surely is a big relief that should instead be the focus of the media-play nowadays on the relationships between social media and mental well-being.
Looking Ahead
Innovation in social media that has sprung out important development for business and the pattern of the new economy is projected to keep on striving in 2018. Some of the innovations in social media that are seen to be potentially booming in 2018 are social commerce and virtual and augmented reality.
- Social commerce is coined as the way social media has become a direct platform for commercial transactions. So far, social media has been playing important roles in giving options for people on products they’d like to buy.[xx] But so far, transactions remain outside of these platforms. So far, Pinterest remains the only popular social media channel that allows peer-to-peer transaction, as users are allowed to buy and sell products to each other.[xxi] Social media’s transformation into a marketplace is already on its way, as they remain as the primary source for people to research and look for inspiration before they shop. Facebook has become the top platform for researching, influencing and buying, as Instagram is gaining footing as well.[xxii] The potential is enormous as younger people are projected to participate in this activity more intensely shortly.
- On augmented and virtual reality, more projections on social media are expected to solidify in 2018, as the technology has gained more considerable fame after the release of Virtual Reality feature in Samsung’s phones as well as augmented reality features in the latest iPhone X last November.[xxiii] The buzz created by these products influenced more people to be interested in experiencing and investing in virtual and augmented reality. It is even projected that by 2020, augmented and virtual reality will generate $162 billion.[xxiv] Social media has been experiencing AR as well, the simplest being Snapchat filters. However, more demands are to be expected to arrive in social media with more massive investments were made by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Apple.[xxv] An augmented reality-based social media called Tada was recently launched and had already gained recognizable spotlights.[xxvi] Beyond that, AR and VR are also said to be the future of content marketing, with its ability to better visualize products to consumers, including through social media. Influencers are said to be using more AR and VR-based contents to engage with their followers through social media, while at the same time influencers already make billions of dollars.[xxvii]
It seems like social media will only grow more significant as business and economic machines. Utilization of social media does not serve solely for communication and sociability. The overall business and economic activities conducted in social media are also widely recognized by consumers, instead of only by business players. Consumers are becoming more willing to participate in the activities amidst their intention of using social media for their sociability purposes – as social media is deemed to be changing the consumerism behaviors of consumers.[xxviii] With these trends pointing at the potentials of social media in uplifting our economic activities, more opportunities can be taken from this. Everyone can be encouraged to also participate in the trends, and thus more productivity can be initiated from social media. The innovations that are introduced also create a cycle of demand and supply to strengthen social media as a business platform. All in all, the world we are living in nowadays is already revolving around productivity in the digital space, as we become more reliant as time goes by. We can expect a more exciting 2018 where more opportunities can be obtained from the tip of our fingers.
On mental health, we might have to hover around some opinions and ideas on its definite direction of where it is going to. One thing to put in mind is that we evidently will be connected even more to the digital space, including social media. The fact that economic factors are there, we need no more reason to stay away from social media. So, more expectations on the effects of sturdier and deeper intensity on social media are definitely there. The thing to also underline is that we have seen much diverse study and recommendations on what ways does social media affect us. So we might also expect more encouragements in both effective and healthy ways of using social media and the actual mental positivity that is initiated by the platforms. Plus, as the public is even more aware of mental health issues through pop culture, we can expect more movements and efforts being pulled to ensure the mental well-being that is well-taken care amidst the lingering fear of social media as the black sheep of our mental problems.
Editors: Atin Prabandari, MA (IR) and Viyasa Rahyaputra
References:
[i] Castells, M. (2014). ‘The Impact of the Internet on Society: A Global Perspective.’ [online] Technology Review. Available at: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/530566/the-impact-of-the-internet-on-society-a-global-perspective/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[ii] The Economist. (2017). ‘Once Considered a boon to democracy, social media have started to look like its nemesis: An economy based on attention is easily gamed.’ [online] Available at: https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21730870-economy-based-attention-easily-gamed-once-considered-boon-democracy-social-media [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[iii] Sorenson, O. (2017). ‘Innovation Policy in a Networked World.’ [online]The National Bureau of Economic Research. Available at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w23431 [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[iv] Desjardins, J. (2017). ‘How Does Social Media Influence the Economy?’ [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/08/02/how-does-social-media-influence-the-economy/#1344717e44d0 [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[v] Garrahan, M. (2017). ‘Google and Facebook Dominance Forecast to Rise.’ [online] Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/cf362186-d840-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482 [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[vi] Desjardins, J. (2017). ‘A Visual Map of the Social Media Universe.’ [online] Visual Capitalist. Available at: http://www.visualcapitalist.com/visual-map-social-media-universe/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[vii] Etherington, D. (2016). ‘Instagram Stories has 100 million daily active users after just 2 months.’ [online] TechCrunch. Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/06/instagram-stories-has-100-million-daily-active-users-after-just-2-months/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[viii] Hutchision, A. (2016). ‘Facebook Testing MSQRD Selfie Lense within Facebook for Olympics.’ [online] Social Media Today. Available at: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/facebook-testing-msqrd-selfie-lenses-within-facebook-olympics [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[ix] Bacon, J., Rogers, C. and Chahal, M. (2016). ‘Trends for 2017: Chatbots, Social Media & Trump Tactics.’ [online] Marketing Week. Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/12/12/trends-2017-chatbots-social-trump/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[x] Blair, I. (2017). ’21 Game-Changing Social Media Trends in 2017.’ [online] Build Fire. Available at: https://buildfire.com/social-media-trends-2017/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[xi] Litsa, T. (2016). ’12 Valuable Marketing Lessons from Snapchat’s Success.’ [online] Search Engine Watch. Available at: https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/04/15/12-valuable-marketing-lessons-from-snapchats-success/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[xii] Bruce-Smith, A. (2017). ‘How Pop Culture Is Changing The Way We Talk About Mental Health.’ [online] Pedestrian. Available at: https://www.pedestrian.tv/health/pop-culture-changing-way-talk-mental-health/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018]
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[xiv] Brown, J. (2018). ‘Is social media bad for you? The evidence and the unknowns.’ [online] BBC. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
[xv] Ginsberg, D., and Burke, M. (2017). ‘Hard Question: Is Spending Time on Social Media Bad for Us?’ [online] Facebook Press. Available at: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/12/hard-questions-is-spending-time-on-social-media-bad-for-us/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018]
[xvi] Morris, D. (2017). ‘Facebook Admits Social Media Can Harm Your Mental Health.’ [online] Fortune. Available at: http://fortune.com/2017/12/16/facebook-admits-social-media-can-harm-your-mental-health/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018]
[xvii] Buchanan, D. (2018). ‘Perfectionism is destroying the mental health of my millennial generation.’ [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/05/perfectionism-mental-health-millennial-social-media [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018]
[xviii] Burke, M., and Kraut, R.E. (2016). ‘The Relationship Between Facebook Use and Well-Being Depends on Communication Type and Tie Strength,’ Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 21(4), pp. 265-281
[xix] Kenna, S. (2017). ‘Social Media May Not Be Harming Your Mental Health Like You Think It Is.’ [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/07/24/social-media-isnt-harming-your-mental-health-like-you-think-it-is_a_22223396/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018]
[xx] Chahal, M. (2016). ‘Social commerce: How willing are consumers to buy through social media?’ [online] Marketing Week. Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/03/23/social-commerce-how-willing-are-consumers-to-buy-through-social-media/ [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017]
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