Social Media
Encyclopaedia Britannica defines social media as “a form of mass media communications on the Internet (such as on websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos).” At the start of 2025, 73 percent of Americans (about 253 million people) used social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (now X), LinkedIn, and Pinterest; worldwide, 63.9 percent of the population (5.24 billion users), and 94.2 percent of all Internet users, used social media. Facebook was still the most popular social media site, with more than three billion users, and TikTok the most popular social media app. Some 62 percent of users say they use social media for staying in touch with friends and family; some 25 percent of them get their news through social media. In the United States, the number of women and men using social media is nearly equal: 50.2 percent are women, 49.8 percent are men. [339][340][346]
So, given this heavy use of, if not obsession with, these online platforms, the question has been asked: Is social media good for society?
SixDegrees.com & Forward
SixDegrees.com, which existed from 1997-2001, is considered the first social media site because it allowed users to create personal spaces and connect to friends online. Friendster, created in 2002, popularized social media in the United States but was quickly outpaced by other social media such as MySpace (2003), Facebook (2004), Twitter (now X, 2006), Pinterest (2009), and Google+ (2012).
Facebook reached one billion monthly users worldwide on October 4, 2012, making it the most popular social media platform with one in seven people on the planet as members. 71 percent of online adults in the United States used Facebook, causing the tech company to manage 4.5 billion “Likes,” 4.75 billion content shares, and over 300 million photo uploads. As of Sept. 2014, 51 percent of US adults used YouTube, 28 percent used Pinterest, 28 percent LinkedIn, 26 percent Instagram, and 23 percent Twitter. Twitter had 288 million monthly active users and over 500 million tweets are sent daily. Among online adults, use of more than one social media platform increased from 42 percent in 2013 to 52 percent in 2014. [26][142] [174][175][176][177][178]
Early User and Advertiser Demographics and Growth
As the sites became increasingly popular, the user base expanded from teenagers and young adults to include more people over the age of 50. Although Facebook began in 2004 as a site for college students with log-ins restricted to those with .edu e-mail addresses, in Sept. 2006 it opened registration to anyone over the age of 13, quickly attracting users of all ages. By 2025, about 21 percent of Facebook users were between ages 18-24, 31 percent between 25–34, 20 percent between 35–44, 12 percent between 45–54, 8 percent between 55–64, and 6 percent aged 65 or older; in other words, more than half of Facebook users are age 18-34. [26][147][179][180][181][343][344]
Social media’s largest source of revenue is advertising. As Statista.com has reported, social media advertising was projected to reach $276.72 billion in 2025, with 83 percent of this expenditure to be devoted to mobile-device ads by 2030. According to a recent Harvard study, a substantial part of this advertising targets young users. Six platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and YouTube) “collectively derived nearly $11 billion in advertising revenue from U.S.-based users younger than 18 in 2022.” [149][150][345]
Social Media & Politics
Social media has also played a large role in shaping the political landscape. More than a quarter of U.S. voters younger than 30 (including 37 percent of those 18-24 years old) reported that they obtained information about the 2008 presidential campaign from social media. On Nov. 3, 2008, the day before the US presidential election, Democratic candidate Barack Obama had 2,379,102 Facebook supporters, 38 percent more than Republican candidate John McCain who had 620,359 supporters. [151][152]
On June 12, 2009, the White House announced, via the White House Blog, that it was joining Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr in order to “create … unprecedented opportunity to connect you to your government in order to obtain information and services and to participate in policymaking.” [153]
Joining the social media sites was part of the administration’s efforts to meet President Obama’s call to “reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative.” On Sept. 16, 2009, the Washington Times broke a story that the White House had begun collecting and storing comments and videos posted on social media, bringing invasion of privacy criticism. Defenders stated that the White House was simply complying with the Presidential Records Act, which requires the preservation of all presidential records. [154][155]
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo dubbed the 2012 election the “Twitter election.” All of the main 2012 presidential candidates had Facebook and Twitter accounts. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney maintained MySpace accounts, and Obama also has a Pinterest account. The 2012 presidential election set the record at the time for most-tweeted event with more than 327,000 tweets per minute being sent when Barack Obama was announced the winner. The image of him and his wife that Obama posted upon his reelection with “Four more years” became the most re-tweeted tweet with over 816,883 re-tweets as of Nov. 19, 2012 (breaking Justin Beiber’s record of over 200,000 re-tweets). [156][158][159]
The protests in Tunisia, which spawned the Arab Spring, were fueled and organized by social media as were protests in Egypt and Iran. The governments of those countries censored and attempted to shut down the social media sites. In response to the censorship, Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, said, “The United States believes passionately and strongly in the basic principle of free expression…. And it is the case that one of the means of expression, the use of Twitter is a very important one, not only to the Iranian people but now increasingly to people around the world, and most particularly to young people.” [160][161] [162]
Social media site growth has sometimes outpaced the development of rules, laws, and etiquette regarding their use. For example, in Feb. 2009 Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) tweeted his whereabouts as he traversed war zones in Iraq, which gave rise to security concerns about the use of social media to post real-time locations. [163]
An Aug. 23, 2018, study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that Russian trolls, bots, and content polluters influenced the 2016 US presidential election and used Twitter to stoke both sides of the debate over vaccines to promote “political discord.”. The study, “Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate,” examined almost 1.8 million tweets about vaccines and found that, while some came from malware or spam accounts, more were sent from identified Russian troll accounts, including many from the Internet Research Agency, a Kremlin-linked propaganda group. [289]
President Donald Trump, a frequent Twitter user who started his account in March 2009, set a presidential record for most tweets and retweets in a single day with 142 posts on Twitter on Jan. 22, 2020. [289]
Social media continued to play a role in the 2020 presidential election as a major method of communication for and about the candidates. Donald Trump’s social media interactions dominated his rivals: in Oct. 2019, he had 181 million interactions (defined as likes, comments, and shares), compared to a combined 58 million for all 17 Democrats in the race. In 2022, Trump founded his own social media app, Truth Social, using it as a base for this presidential reelection bid in 2024.[292]
Social Media & the Law
Illinois passed a law in Aug. 2009 banning registered sex offenders from using social media. Contrary to popular perception, a Dec. 31, 2008, Internet Safety Technical Task Force report presented to the U.S. State Attorneys General found that adults lying about their ages to initiate relationships with minors were actually a rare occurrence, with only 9 percent of online sexual predators being adults over the age of 21. 43 percent of online sexual predators were identified as minors, and 30 percent were adults between the ages of 18 and 21, who were closer in age to their victims.. [165][166]
On May 2, 2012, Maryland became the first state to pass a law prohibiting employers from asking current or prospective employees for their user names or passwords for social media. Governor Jerry Brown of California announced via Twitter on Sept. 27, 2012, that he signed two bills into law to prohibit employers and universities from demanding passwords. Other states have followed suit and have passed social media protection laws or have laws pending. [167][168][169][170][171]
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called to appear before a panel of Senate committees in Apr. 2018 to address how the social media company mishandled user data, which were used by a consulting firm to create targeted political advertisements during the 2016 presidential election. He stated in prepared testimony, “We were too slow to spot and respond to Russian interference, and we’re working hard to get better…. We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry.” Lawmakers indicated that they might enact privacy rules and regulations in the wake of the recent scandals. [284][285]
On May 26, 2020, Twitter labeled two of President Donald Trump’s tweets with “! Get the facts about mail-in ballots.” In response to the labels, Trump issued an executive order on May 28, 2020, that requires federal agencies to review social media companies’ conduct and potential biases, and bans federal agencies from advertising on platforms with alleged violations. [293][294][295][296]
Social Media during COVID-19 and Beyond
During the COVID-19 (coronavirus pandemic) in 2020, Americans consumed about 53 minutes of news per day, according Flixed, a site that provides “cord cutting” tools for people looking to ditch their cable boxes. That was an increase of 22 minutes. Facebook was the primary social media platform source for coronavirus news (35.8 percent of people surveyed), followed by Twitter (17.0 percent) and YouTube (16.3 percent). People who turned to Reddit as their primary social media news source about the pandemic were most likely to report a decline in their mental health (57.6 percent), followed by Twitter (43 percent), then Facebook (41.6 percent). [291]
A May 2021 NBC News poll found 64 percent of Americans believed social media “does more harm than good,” while 27 percent believed the platforms united Americans. [298]
Social media use only continues to increase as more platforms debut. In 2022, a Common Sense Media report found 84 percent of teens used social media, with only 34 percent reporting that they enjoy social media “a lot.” Social media use was also increasing among tweens, a group that is ostensibly barred from using the platforms. [299]
Minimum Age Laws
On March 23, 2023, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill that will require anyone under 18 to acquire parental consent to join social media platforms in Utah as of March 1, 2024. The new law also required social media companies to implement curfews for minors, blocking anyone under 18 from using the platforms between 10:30 PM and 6:30 AM. The law also required social media platforms to remove all ads from the accounts of minors and allow parents access to the accounts. Utah’s law served as something of a guinea pig as social media platforms figured out how to implement the changes and the government figured out how to enforce the law. Similar laws were under consideration in other states. [330][331]
On Apr. 12, 2023, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee signed the Social Media Safety Act. The law required social media platforms to verify the ages of all new users and have minor users obtain parental consent before creating an account. [332]
Surgeon General’s Warning Label on Social Media
In a June 17, 2024, New York Times opinion piece, Vivek H. Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, called for a Surgeon General’s warning label on social media. [333]
“It is time,” he argued, “to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe. Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior.” [333]
The warning label now standard on cigarette packages was introduced in 1965 and heralded a 50-year decrease in smoking among Americans. [334]
So, is social media good for society?
Pros and Cons at a Glance
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Pro 1: Social media promotes community, security, and safety, both online and off. Read More. | Con 1: Social media spurs digital addiction, cyberbullying, and mental health issues. Read More. |
| Pro 2: Social media encourages civic and political responsibility. Read More. | Con 2: Social media encourages the spread of misinformation. Read More. |
| Pro 3: Social media bolsters inclusivity and diversity, both online and off. Read More. | Con 3: Social media increases privacy risks across the Internet. Read More. |
Pro Arguments
(Go to Con Arguments)Pro 1: Social media promotes community, security, and safety, both online and off.
Through social media, people can have friends with similar interests in multiple cities, states, and countries. Closer to home, social media can help people find each other in a busy world, from mom groups and soccer leagues to book clubs and hobby groups. Social media also serves a vital community function, from publicizing civic events and public safety concerns to locating lost pets and ranking and recommending local businesses and services.
“[M]ost young people will say that social media and networked games are a lifeline to supportive connections with friends and loved ones. This was critical during the [COVID-19] pandemic when schools and sports were off limits. Social media can also be a way for young people to connect with others with shared interests and identities, which can be a lifeline for youth,” explains computer science professor Mizuko Ito. [300]
As media professor Keith Hampton adds, while social media is not a substitute for in-person contact, “Relationships that might previously have gone dormant now persist over time [online]. As such, social media users tend to report that they have access to more social support and have lower psychological distress.”[300]
Studies have shown that not only does social media participation not completely obliterate in-person friendships as once feared, but that online relationships are a key supplement that add to one’s well-being. People are able to share more of their lives with friends and family and may receive crucial support from groups they do not have in offline life. [301][302]
Some 80 percent of teens felt more connected to friends, 67 percent felt they had people to support them, and 58 percent felt more accepted because of social media. [303]
Traditional barriers to friendships are reduced or completely removed for adults who are no longer in school or do not have a pool of coworkers, particularly when working from home. Shy, introverted, or socially reticent people can use social media to reach out to potential friends with lowered barriers and risks. Further, people with medical ailments can find and benefit greatly from online support communities. [304][338]
Social media can also promote school and work communities. The platforms allow students and parents to connect to each other as well as teachers and other school staff outside of school hours to establish relationships as well as connect with outside community members and experts for internships, interviews, and other opportunities. For work, employees can connect with remote coworkers and other companies for what used to be “water cooler chats,” as well as for global project collaboration, advice, and career networking. [305]
There are even apps with social networking features designed to promote community safety and a greater sense of security. Assorted emergency apps allow for the sharing of information, photos, and livestream video with 911 dispatchers. There iss even an app for street vendors who work late at night and routinely face harassment and bullying from irate and inebriated customers; they can push a distress button on the app that sends out a signal for community help to every user of the app within a five-mile radius.[343][342]
Pro 2: Social media encourages civic and political responsibility.
“Many of today’s youth take to digital spaces to develop their civic identities and express political stances in creative ways, claiming agency that may not be afforded to them in traditional civic spaces. The key difference between civic engagement by youth today and older, more traditional forms of action is the availability of digital technology, which provides a low-barrier-to-entry canvas for young people to create content that is potentially vastly scalable,” according to a 2020 UNICEF report. [306]
Social media creates a more equitable point of entry and space for continued civic and political activity than traditional spaces. This easy access “contributes to a sense of socio-political empowerment,” which, in turn, makes young people more likely to participate in offline political activities, including voting. [306]
As Carla, a young self-identified Latina explained, “I feel like it’s my duty, that I come from a heritage of people that don’t have a voice, don’t have the opportunity to say something … it’s my duty to be like ‘this is wrong.’ And hopefully that inspires someone else to be like ‘oh, she’s right,’ or ‘oh, he’s right.’ And I want to be a part of that, so that’s why I do it. We’re a generation where we have a voice.” [307]
Meanwhile, many young people are taking responsibility to properly vet information they share. Jeremy noted, “I found myself becoming much more active [during an election] to some degree, in terms of reposting different pieces of information that I try to vet as much as possible… I found myself once or twice having to delete stories because of the information ended up being incorrect, and I felt like it was my obligation to immediately take it down.” [307]
Social media allows for political activists to fundraise, partner with influencers to boost the message, promote events including marches, share stories, and spread awareness of their chosen issue(s). For example, social media use fueled political protests including the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, #LoveWins, #MeToo, and Occupy Wall Street. [308]
Presidents Obama and Trump both used social media to an unprecedented degree to communicate with both US citizens and people abroad. “Social media not only enables the politicians to directly communicate with the citizens but also encourages political participation of citizens in the form of feedback via comments on social networking sites,” according to researchers. [309]
Pro 3: Social media bolsters inclusivity and diversity, both online and off.
Social media brings everyone together into one online space. With tools including hashtags and groups, people from diverse backgrounds who have similar identities, interests, or goals can find each other easily. For instance, “social media sites offer critical opportunities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and other sexual and/or gender minority (LGBTQ+) youth to enhance well-being through exploring their identities, accessing resources, and connecting with peers.“ [310]
Similarly, people can explore people, cultures and ideas with which they are unfamiliar without judgment from their offline communities. Pew Research Center found that in a “survey of adults in 11 nations across four global regions … in many key respects, smartphone users – and especially those who use social media – are more regularly exposed to people who have different backgrounds.” [311]
For example, in Lebanon, social media users are 76 percent more likely to interact with people of different religious groups, 58 percent more likely to interact with people of different races and ethnic groups, 68 percent more likely to interact with people of different political parties, and 81 percent more likely to interact with people of different income levels than Lebanese people who do not use social media. [311]
Furthermore, many companies have extended their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies to online spaces, allowing not only employees but also diverse customers, clients, and others to be included equitably. For example, “bilingual social media content has emerged as a tool used to increase diversity and rights for minority groups. On Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and other social platforms, organizations such as Tide Pods by Unilever have released bilingual images that support diverse communities. Nonprofits are currently producing bilingual content across the globe to increase equality further internationally. Bilingual social media content is now becoming a marketing tool for organizations to learn about other cultures worldwide. It can help them connect with their followers by using images that promote acceptance and understanding of cultural diversity,” according to Maria Ochoa, founder and CEO of Emprender Creative. [312]
Creating a diverse online space can translate into a diverse work environment as employees and customers of diverse backgrounds feel included and, in turn, interact better with the company. [312]
