Social Media

Book excerpt: Social media is arguably one of the most powerful technology-enabled innovations since the Internet itself. This single-volume book provides a broad and easily understandable discussion of the evolution of social media; related problems and controversies, especially for youth; key people and organizations; and useful social media data. Social media is an integral part of people's lives. More than half of the world's 2.4 billion Internet users sign in to a social network regularly—a figure that continues to grow. More than half of online adults now use two or more social media sites; 71 percent of Internet users are on Facebook. This book surveys the history of social media, addresses the power of social media for positive change, describes the problems and controversies social media have caused, and suggests potential solutions to these issues. Geared toward students and general readers, this accessibly written book covers such topics as the link between social media and body image, the psychological affects of social media use, online conversations about sexual assault, corporate use of social media data, political campaigning through social media, fan tweeting during television shows, and crisis communication through social media. Readers will also gain insights into the range of serious problems related to social media, including privacy concerns, social media addiction, social media hoaxes and scams, the pressure to project an ideal self, the curation of content presented on social media, cyberbullying, sexting, Facebook depression and envy, online shaming, and the impact of social media use on communication skills.