SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS–ASSESSMENT OF THE JOURNEY, TRENDS AND IMPACTS

Social media is one of the greatest revolutions of the 21st century. It has become the preferred way of communication for people across the world in the last two decades. Its characteristics like easy to use, free of cost, easily accessible, ability to communicate with many and instant communication makes social media so popular amongst people from all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities.Today there are hundreds of social media platforms available for catering different types of needs – be it socializing, learning, business, professional or any other need. The five most preferred social media platforms in India are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Among the messaging apps category, Whatsapp dominates the space followed by Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat and Skype.

In this hindsight, this article at first highlights the growing presence of social media everywhere including lives of ordinary people, businesses and governments. The second part of the article looks at some serious psychological effects that users are facing by regular use of social media. The third part deals with some crimes and harms that are commonly occurring with the help of social media. The last part provides some solutions for keeping social media open, safe and trustworthy.