Which social media are there?

A social medium is a platform where people can share things with each other. The word ‘social’ already indicates it: it is all about contact with others. That can be as extensive or limited as someone wants. Social media often uses multiple internet applications such as apps and websites. Other commonly used terms for social media are, for example, social network or the English social media.

A definition of social media is something like this: online platforms that allow people to share information with each other, with minimal intervention from an editor. The users themselves take care of the dialogue and interaction with each other.

There are all kinds of different social media. Think of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube or Snapchat. WhatsApp is also referred to by many as a social network, even if it is actually slightly different.

Many social media are similar. Usually you can create a personal profile, post messages and respond to messages from others. But every medium has its own approach. For example, Twitter often contains short messages, Instagram is mainly for beautiful photos and you can easily find old friends on Facebook. We list a number of commonly used social media.

Facebook is the social medium with the most users. More than 2.8 billion people use it worldwide. Messages can be about anything and everything. Private topics are popular, such as birthdays, funny events or hobbies. Everyone has their own profile page on Facebook. Users can add people as friend. They can then see each other’s posts, photos, and videos they share (depending on someone’s privacy settings). Many companies and famous artists can also be found on Facebook. For example, follow NU.nl, your favorite cookie brand, or read messages from a well-known singer, politician or writer. People can also reply to messages. This can be done simply with an emoticon or with a reaction.

Short messages are central on Twitter. A message on Twitter is called a ‘tweet’ (pronounced tweet) and can contain a maximum of 280 characters. Opinions on Twitter are sometimes sharp: people like to let you know what they think about something. In principle, people can follow whoever they want on this social network: family and friends, but also strangers or companies. Another possibility is to follow a hashtag (#-sign, pronounced hesh-tek). For example, follow posts with #football #gardening or #tourdefrance to read popular tweets on that topic.

If you like to see lots of beautiful photos, Instagram is the right place for you. On this social medium, all messages consist of an image or video, accompanied by an accompanying text. Users choose a photo, edit it with a nice effect if necessary and share the picture with their followers. Travel photos, nature photos, beautiful dishes and pets always do well on Instagram. Do people like a photo? Then they let you know by giving the photo a heart. You can also leave a comment with someone.

Pinterest is like a digital scrapbook. Users can collect their own photos, but also photos of others on a ‘board’. This is a kind of digital bulletin board. For example, create a plate with inspiration for the new kitchen or collect tasty summer dishes on a plate. Search by topic and save messages. This saving is called ‘pinning’.

YouTube is also a social medium. Users can create and share videos. But a lot of users only watch the videos of others. This can be done via the PC, smartphone and tablet. The videos can be about anything. There are videos about hobbies, pet videos, videos with tips and instructions, interviews, music clips. Topics range from very serious to short and funny.

LinkedIn is a business social medium. People connect with people they know through work. This creates a network of work contacts. On LinkedIn, users create a profile on which their work experience is visible. Add someone as a connection to see their work history. Users can also share messages. This is often about work-related topics. People can also congratulate each other, for example on a work anniversary, promotion or job change.

TikTok is especially popular among young people. They post and/or watch homemade videos of no more than sixty seconds. They are often dance, singing or playback videos. All kinds of effects are often added to this, such as beauty filters. Users can follow other accounts and comment and “like” (heart) the videos below. By the way, viewers can also play videos of people they don’t follow. These films are suggested based on a person’s interests and viewing behaviour.

Snapchat is mainly used by teenagers. On this social medium, users send photos to each other that disappear within seconds. If the photos are gone, the recipient no longer owns them. The nice thing is that this allows young people to send each other crazy photos. Especially because of Snapchat’s many filters. Think of a filter that makes someone look bald, have a digital chicken on their head or suddenly seem fifty years older. It is also possible to chat via the app.