Millennials and Social Media
This article looks at the way millennials’ social media habits are changing, and will continue to change in the upcoming year. These predictions are especially important because of the tremendous buying power of millennials and the amount of their activity that takes place online. Each of the habits examined in this article relates back to information networks and social habits that we examined in class. Forbes essentially makes 5 predictions.
1. “Ratings will be everywhere.” Previous studies have reported that millennials trust reviews more than any demographic. Ratings are a prime example of information networks. Millennials, having grown up in an age where every decision is connected in some way to social media, look for information from friends, acquaintances, or even strangers who simply ensure that another human in their age group has tried and approved of that decision. Knowing that other people use a product or service provides both direct and information benefits, which influence decision-making.
2. “Workplace communication will start to shift.” Forbes notes and predicts the continuance of social medias rise in the professional arena. Social media is now being used heavily in sales tactics and communications. As Millennials begin to hold higher positions in companies this trend may continue. Social media is a far more effective means of spreading information because, like ratings, it connects advertisements with a trustworthy source. As discussed in lecture, online advertisements can target more specific subsets of consumers, making them more efficient. Social media can take that a step further by embedding a brand in consumers’ every day lives. When they check their social media, they hear about a company or organization, increasing exposure.
3. “Millennials will face a choice: Bail on social media platforms, or fall deeper in the echo chambers.” The most recent election has drawn substantial attention to “echo chambers” on social media. 88% of millennials get their news from social media and, since content is decided by clicks and “likes,” users are only presented articles and posts that agree with their viewpoint. Despite the vastness of highly connected social media networks, we see only content from the component that shares our political views. Since the algorithms are unlikely to change and address this issue, social media users will either have to accept the one-sidedness of their news or understand how their content is generated and side-step it.
4. “Social media usage will start to decline.” This interesting prediction seems counter to trends we have observed lately. Forbes asserts that social media has become a chronic source of unhappiness for many users, which could prompt a drop-off. According to the information we’ve learned in the course, however, this seems unlikely. As we know, people are more likely to use a technology if their friends are using it, especially in the came of social media where its value is decided almost entirely by how many friends use it. Though usage may fluctuate, as long at the usage remains above a certain threshold (which many large platforms like facebook or instagram definitely do) usage will likely continue to grow unless something dramatic happens. That said, since social media platforms aren’t mutually exclusive, a new platform could certainly take the lead as large groups first use several platforms and begin to trend towards a new one.
5. “We’ll see new ways to communicate concisely and nonverbally.” Rises in features like emojis and “reactions” on facebook have allowed more clear nonverbal communication. Rather than write a comment or reply to a text with a sentence or phrase, users can now send a picture that could sum up an entire thought. This trend allows a more quantitative approach to relationships. Rather than an actual message, users can pick from a set of responses that arguably make social media less personal, but also increase the ability to gather data quickly and easily. The number of “angry” responses that a facebook post receives is far easier to measure with an algorithm than the degree of anger captured in a comment. These features will likely influence the “echo chamber” effect discussed earlier. Though we have little insight into the actual algorithms, perhaps developers want users to leave the site feeling happy, so they will visit more often. If this is the case, maybe you’ll receive more posts of the type that you respond to with a “love” or “wow” response. Perhaps they simply look for strong reactions, so your content will reflect reactions rather than the more bland “like”. It’s hard to know but these new features are certainly changing the way we interact with social media.
As social media develops, and becomes a more integral part of the lives of an increasing portion of the population, studying online behaviors is quickly growing as a field of study. Incremental changes, for better or worse, not only change our online experiences, but our real-world actions and relationships, making social media an increasingly important aspect in the study of networks.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/under30network/2016/11/29/5-ways-millennial-social-media-habits-will-change-in-2017/#1ac05bd51e83