Social media

Key people

• Andreas KaplanGerman economist, dean, university rector; higher education expert; edtech; social media; artificial intelligence
• Norman ThavaudFrench comedian and YouTuber
• Cyprien IovFrench comedian and YouTuber (born 1989)
• danah boydSocial media scholar and youth researcher

Timeline

• 1973A precursor of the electronic bulletin board system (BBS), known as Community Memory, appeared by 1973.
• 1980Message forums were the signature BBS phenomenon throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
• 1990ARPANET evolved into the Internet in the 1990s.
• 2010Over 495,000 opinions were shared on X related to science between September 1, 2010, and August 31, 2011.
• 2014Thailand In the 2014 Thai coup d'état, the public was explicitly instructed not to 'share' or 'like' dissenting views on social media or face prison.

Read

• Social MediaRegina Luttrell · 2014Book
• Social media campaignsCarolyn Mae Kim · 2016Book
• Social media marketing for dummiesShiv Singh · 2012Book
• The Social Media IndustriesAlan B. Albarran · 2013Book

Listen

• Creator Club | Social Media Marketing & Content CreationKatie StecklyPodcast
• Stop the Scroll: A social Media podcast with Heidi Schmidt - Social Media and Content Marketing Advice for small business ownSocial Media Strategist, Content Marketer and Agency Owner Heidi SchmidtPodcast
• Social Media Manager ConfidentialShanté Gorman, Mentor for Social Media ManagersPodcast
• Social Media DecodedMichelle ThamesPodcast

Voices to follow

• Zeynep Tüfekçi@zeynep · XTurkish sociologist and writer (born 1970)
• danah boyd@zephoria · XSocial media scholar and youth researcher
• Mihaela OmarovaYouTubeBulgarian influencer
• Evan Davis@EvanHD · XBritish economist, journalist and presenter

By the numbers

• 8.2BWorld population — global, 2025 (World Bank)
• 57.8Urban (% of people) — global, 2025 (World Bank)

Debates

• Does social media primarily harm or help mental well-being?One view: Social media often contributes to anxiety, depression, and body image issues through comparison and cyberbullying. · Another: Social media can foster connection, provide support networks, and offer platforms for self-expression and community building.Open question
• Is social media a force for democratic engagement or political polarization?One view: Social media algorithms create echo chambers and spread misinformation, deepening political divides and radicalizing users. · Another: Social media empowers marginalized voices, facilitates social movements, and allows for direct communication between citizens and leaders.Open question

Glossary

• Digital footprintThe unique data trail a person leaves through their online activities.
• Algorithmic biasSystematic and unfair discrimination produced by AI systems influencing content delivery.
• Filter bubbleA state of intellectual isolation where users only see information that confirms their beliefs.
• Echo chamberAn environment where beliefs are amplified or reinforced by communication and repetition inside a closed system.
• Online communityA group of people who interact primarily through social media platforms based on shared interests.
• Digital divideThe gap between those with and without access to digital technology and the internet.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Student research

Published policy papers by One Young India delegates — every delegate leaves published under their own name.

• Separating Real and AI Media – Difficulties and SolutionsK.V. Siva Surya
• The Public Persona Trap: US College Admissions and Social MediaGunika Chaudhary
• Understanding misinformation in India: The case for a meaningful regulatory approach for social media platformsGandharv Dhruv Madan
• The Evolution of Social Media Marketing: From Engagement to CommerceHimanshi Bhutoria

Threads 4

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Technology

  Social feeds show you whatever keeps you scrolling, and nothing grips people like outrage. Studies find that every angry, moral word you add to a post makes it spread about a fifth further. So without anyone deciding to, the algorithm keeps breeding a angrier society just by chasing your attention.

• Work, Wages & Labour Markets Economics

  You'd think your best friends would help you land a job, but usually it's the people you barely know. Close friends all swim in your pond and hear the same news you do. Distant acquaintances live in other worlds, so they carry openings and tips you'd never have heard about. Weak connections, surprisingly strong payoff.

• International & Human Rights Law Law

  Ending slavery, winning women the vote, banning torture, these didn't spread mainly through polite treaties. They caught on in sudden bursts, jumping country to country through networks of activists, shaming, and copying, almost like a contagious idea. Human rights advance less like paperwork and more like a wildfire.

• Public Health Health

  Your friend's friend's friend, someone you've never even met, can measurably nudge your weight, your smoking, even your happiness. Studies show these things ripple across up to three degrees of social distance. Behavior spreads through a network almost like a germ spreads through a crowd.