Have you ever thought that social media might not be a thing in the future? Initially people joined social media platforms to keep in touch with their loved ones and keep up with the latest news. We all remember when Facebook was more fun with less ads and more interaction between people to people. Nowadays, social media platforms are not for individuals’ interactions only. It has become more of a consumer to business type of relationship thing. Myself, for example, I can spend a whole day without replying to my inboxes (from family/friends) simply because I am caught up in watching YouTube videos of public influencers, browsing their Instagram or checking their Facebook/Twitter pages. As well, just looking at Coles Facebook Page, it is obvious that nowadays people spend a lot of time interacting with brands. The image below is a post from Coles’ Facebook page that had received over 500 comments and 440 reactions from Coles’ customers.
In the video – 2015 Media Forum, Mark Ritson asserts that social media is about people spending time ‘’talking to each other’’. It was when it first started but this is not true anymore. Would you agree with me that nowadays you spend more time looking for information on social media platforms than socialising?
Another point that Mark Ritson raised is that social media is not about enabling ‘’users to create and share contents’’. I completely disagree with this point. In today’s society, social media seems to be more about creating and sharing content than anything else. There are thousands of YouTubers who spend a lot of time creating and sharing videos that thousands of viewers spend time watching. People also create and share heaps of content via Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and even Twitter. Social media platforms have a lot of influencers such as Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump who share their products/ideas online in attempt to get us to buy them or agree with their idea. Brands such as Apple and Puma also spend a lot of time creating digital contents and interacting with customers online.
Do you still use your Facebook (and other social media platforms) the same way you did when you first started?
MKTG1415_Digital Marketing 2018_Outlooks 
The social part of social media is dying but the mafia part is stronger than ever
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Media not Mafia
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So glad you rectified it because I was a bit confused. Exactly, brands and businesses are now taking over social media.
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Great points made Ms Mariama Diallo, there are certainly a lot more marketing on social media platforms in recent years, which is a diversion from what social media was initially intended. But still, an individual can always choose what they set their attention to, meaning that they can still socialise without allowing themselves to be drawn away by advertisements ect.
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Thank you, A. You’re right, businesses may try to take over social media platforms but at the end of the media, the final decision on how we want to use our social media is ours. If we want to keep socialising with our loved ones, we can still do that.
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This is interesting, especially when you think about how long social media has been around for – about 8-10 years? I remember when MSN and MySpace were my go to and now MSN isn’t even a thing. Perhaps social media isn’t dying but rather changing the purpose it serves, I think we use it to socialise but spend more of our time scrolling feeds between the socialising bit – perhaps simply to fill in our time?
Facebook messenger doesn’t show me ads, and as I only have this app installed on my phone and not the main Facebook app I avoid seeing ads and simply use it for socialising.
If you think social media is dying, what do you think will replace it?
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Omg you remember MySpace haha. Since 2004 so over 10 years now. True, the whole aspect of social media is not dying but some things are changing or disappearing bit by bit. Partly it is to fill in our time but I also think that it is because of the new things such as ads and contents that we are exposed to. Before we used to see more of our friends’ photos or their status but now we see more of things (videos) that they’ve liked instead.
That’s very smart. I mostly use Instagram these days and because of it I find myself forgetting to reply to my inboxes as I spend most of my time looking at celebrities’ accounts.
Something funner I hope and less business related. I dunno what or when it will be, but I’m hoping for something that will be just for me and my friends, no brands at all.
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Hey Mariama,
Nice blog. I tend to agree with what was said, being that people enjoy content shared on social media rather than interacting with others (that being friends/families). However, their is an aspect that social media provides that does get looked over. Such as how many of these entertainers (for example Youtubers) create a community built up with people who all enjoy that one thing. A lot of these communities tend to interact with one another which wouldn’t be possible without social media. So I just wanted to know, do you think social media still provides interaction from content sharing? (even though the interaction isn’t between said person to family/friends but with strangers who have the same interest as them)
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Hey Enas, thank you 🙂
You raised a very good point there, Enas. Youtubers do create their own little communities through their youtube videos and you’re also right, they interact with each other a lot through those posts.
Totally, I watch youtube videos sometimes and I tend to comment on people’s things if I have a question. So yeah definitely, I think that social media still provides interaction from content sharing. The youtubers videos are about a specific’s brand’s product, but at the end of the day, through it, they’re interacting with those who comment and watch their videos.
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I may tend to disagree, social media marketing in the area of user-generated content is still strong. Marketers love posting customers reviews of their brand and products because other people will trust that more over just normal marketing material. This is what makes social media and user generated content so valuable! Let me know what you think x
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Very insteresting read! I have to agree that the social part is definitely dying. I can say personally that I use it to read information rather then chatting with friends. I even go as far as using twitter and Instagram to get my news rather then news websites. Which type of social media do you think is dying the quickest? I know I hardly check my Facebook anymore
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Thank you 🙂 Matts. Same, I always see or hear about important news through social media.
Those that do not help gain financial benefits in any ways such as Snapchat. It is not as innovative as people expected it to be and unlike other platforms like Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat does not generate revenue for individuals or businesses which I think is one of the main reasons why it is didn’t grow by much in the last months.
The social part of Facebook is dying slowly and companies seem to be taking over so it may become more of a business platform soon.
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Hey, great post!
I think you need to look at the different characteristics of users on social media and Hodis details this in his fou segment facebook engagement framework. For example, I believe I would be categorised as a connection seeker because I have a high level of consumption and a low level of creation. I don’t really post anything and instead, enjoy using the app to enhance daily life friendships as well as maintain past and present friendships when geographic separation or varying schedules get in the way. Companies than alter their online marketing strategies to target each group of consumers which aims to generate interaction and engagement from content sharing!
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Thanks 🙂 Aaron,
Does posting photos on Instagram count as creation? Because otherwise, I would be categorised as a connection seeker too. Posting photos is as far as I go to creating content online. Do you still chat to your friends the same way you used to? Thats great.
It does but it’s more of a content sharing from business to potential or current customers than one of a friend to friend type of thing like your friend posting a photo of themselves.
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