Social media is turning 25. Should we be celebrating? - The National

Social media turned 25 this year. One contender for the title "world's first social media platform" was Sweden's LunarStorm. Originally called Stajlplejs (style place), this teen-orientated site was launched in 1996. Another contender, founded around the same time, was Sixdegrees.com. This US-based platform included now-familiar features, such as creating personal profiles and maintaining lists of friends. Another could be ICQ, an early example of an instant messaging service.

In the quarter of a century that has passed since the launch of these trailblazing platforms, social media has changed the world, revolutionising the way we communicate and relate to one another. Kepios, a management advisory service, reports that as of July 2021, just over half the people on Earth (4.48 billion people) now have active social media accounts.

Success doesn't always breed contempt, but it does attract closer scrutiny. In recent years, we have started to become a little more critical of social media. The "techlash", as it has been termed, gives voice to serious concerns about social media privacy, manipulation, addiction and more. These concerns are well-founded and we do need to keep a critical eye on these popular, globally powerful platforms.

However, on the silver jubilee of social media, I would like to celebrate a few things that are right with social media and look at the diverse ways these platforms have improved our lives, promoted our health and helped bring about positive...



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