So you take out your smartphone to do a search and there goes a few wasted hours. Yes, time flew by and you didn't even notice! But believe me, this habit has become more common than you think, due to some changes in social behavior. According to the report by We Are Social, Brazilians spend an average of three and a half hours a day on social networks.
BUT WHAT ARE SOCIAL NETWORKS?
It might seem obvious, but many people believe that social networks are just “Face and Ig”. If you are one of those people, you know nothing! Surely you know how social networks work, but what are they really?
So here we go!
Social network is any platform that connects people with common values and interests in sharing information, whether personal or professional.
WHEN DID THEY APPEAR?
Now that you know, literally, what social networks are, can you imagine the world without them? We know it's not easy to imagine life without receiving notifications or posting, but it all started only in 1997 with the Six Degrees website. It was at this moment that virtual friendships emerged.
However, while some social networks were born, others died. The famous Orkut said goodbye to the world in 2014, on the other hand, Facebook, launched by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, was already one of the most accessed platforms among users.
SOCIAL NETWORKS. WHICH ARE THE MOST USED?
Not having documents to prove your existence could be considered normal, but not having a Facebook account is absurd for some people. With more than 2 billion registered users, Facebook is the most accessed social network in the world.
However, in addition to relating people in the digital environment, this platform gained the attention of another audience: the corporate.
According to data from Social Media Trends 2018, 98.8% of companies use Facebook as a marketing strategy and that includes Brazilians. We are the third country that most accesses this social network, losing only to the United States and India.
With the arrival of instant messages, WhatsApp became the second most accessed social network in our ranking.
Simple information, such as: “I'm almost arriving”, was replaced by commercial transactions, payment confirmations, document transfers, among other needs that were adapted to the use of the application.
YOUTUBE
Founded in 2005, Youtube ranks third in user preference. The network used to watch videos today is already seen as a powerful marketing tool for professionals from different areas and digital influencers. Of course, the impact of audiovisual content has also transformed the way in which information is consumed. And who can confirm this are the 5 billion videos that are watched every day on the platform.
A picture is worth more than a thousand words. And if you have an Instagram account, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Sharing photos, whether in real-time or not, through Stories has become one of the most loved features among followers.
With the possibility of inserting filters, videos and even ads, visual content has become king on the internet, and no wonder! Personal exposure in the feed has also become a good strategy for brands to advertise their products in an attractive way, in addition to influencing the generation of traffic to the site itself.
So… what has changed in people's behavior on social media?
In addition to behavior, communication has changed and so have people. Today, you no longer need to travel to make a business meeting, buy a product or even start a relationship, you just need internet access and an account on a social network.
It cannot be denied that the digital transformation has changed the way of thinking and acting in society. And at this point, we're not just talking about the interactions between people, but the way we relate to the brands and companies themselves. The disruption of unilateral relations raised many questions about freedom of expression and empowerment.
Social networks gave users a voice and removed opinions from anonymity. If you buy a product and receive it defective, you can expose your opinion on the internet.
But it's not just about posting complaints or compliments. The influence of social networks on people's behavior also changed the consumption of information. If, on the one hand, the use of the internet is important to strengthen relationships, on the other it was responsible for the creation of several syndromes.
Access to technology is premature, so it's natural for children to become addicted before they say the first word. This shows that staying for almost four hours may seem like a harmless action, but it still triggers behaviors of stress and anxiety in social networks, depending on each individual's psychological situation.
But it's not everything is bad news. The possibility of sharing information in real time, exposing opinions, creating social movements are benefits that cannot go unnoticed, not to mention the advantages related to professional use.
There are those who claim that privacy is still one of the issues that most cause controversy in the networks, however, the benefits pointed out and the growing technological improvements still outweigh the existing conflicts.
And remember..we are all connected.
Comments