The Trends I see in Social Media

My current job requires me to sift through tons of user-generated content in social media and very often, it offers a voyeuristic peek into the minds of the users and society. Crunch through enough social media posts, videos, captions, and what-have-you, and you start to develop a sense of what concerns users currently, the contemporary issues which they like to post on, how they seek to build relationships and even, the preferred filter they use on their pictures. This gives me the opportunity to expound on what I see as current trends among social media users. 

 1. Growth of User communities. Doing what they do on the social apps – sharing, creating, commenting – increases affinity among users to form communities or groups based on common connectors. These may be the games they are currently playing, the city they are presently staying in, the brands that attract them the most, lifestyle goals like food, travel, photography, the local events whether they be politics, economic, leisure, their country of origin, religious and spiritual values, etc. Once formed, these communities largely function as a touchstone of shared beliefs and ideas the members identify with, fiercely protect, and oftentimes seek to propagate among others too. 

 2. Games, games, more games. Beside the stratospheric numbers of the online games industry, it has also spawned its own platforms like Twitch, B Site, etc. Emergence of Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) games, popularity of gaming platforms like Roblox, etc. where developers and gamers can co-create, the ever-expanding scope of what gamers can do within the games, etc. all mean that the gaming community has a lot to share and talk about. And guess where the gamers like to come? Oh yes, the social media apps where users share posts on their latest avatars, gaming achievements, and flaunt their in-game collections. Chew on this – Twitter calculated that its users sent 1 billion tweets about gaming in the first half of 2020 alone! 

 3. Live streaming is In. Content creators such as indie game developers, artists, lifestyle teachers are using live streaming services on social media like never before. Being constrained by the pandemic, users have adapted to connecting with their audiences, co-users by creating live chats, competitions, and tutorials to grab more eyeballs and make important announcements. Recent studies have thrown up the conclusion that the popularity of live videos is dominating the demand for video content. 

 4. We all like stories. Storytelling finds a new significance on social media where users seek to create content by taking a more organized approach, layering content through pre-launch banter, quizzes, ‘behind-the-scenes’ moments, tours, etc. This all creates the impression of a definite thematic journey in the minds of the audience and the short-lived nature of the content keeps users engaged, excited and on their toes. 

 All these evolutions make social media exciting and better understand the impact it has on the users and the world around us. So, strap in for the ride!