Читать книгу Overcoming Internet Addiction For Dummies - David N. Greenfield - Страница 15

What exactly is social media? I explain in Chapter 5 that social media is a broad category of applications and websites that are structured around the idea of connecting people, organizations, or businesses around themes, content, or interest areas. Although there are several well-known social media sites, the definition of social media has also expanded to include newer apps and websites that attract users’ time and attention. Some examples of social media sites are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, Vine, Twitter, and YouTube, and even travel sites like Waze and Yelp have a social media component; undoubtedly, countless social applications are integrated into other apps and websites, as businesses have found that social sells.

Some social sites are integrated around news and communication, others focus on video and text, and still others are simply about photos and user life updates, posts, and sharing. Some integrate all of these features. Most are without fees to the user; however, none are free. Most accept advertising, and many sell your user data to others for a variety of purposes.

Make no mistake: If you think there are no obvious payment of costs connected to social media, then you are the payment! Your eyes and attention form the economic engine that drives social media, and many of these platforms have proven to be both addictive and negatively impactful on a variety of psychological levels.