Social networking service

You can use the internet to meet people.

These sites help you find friends. You can share photos and videos. You can also share your ideas.

Some sites help you find work. Other sites help you find books. You can use a phone or a computer.

These sites help us stay close. We can talk to people far away. This is like talking at a market.

People use these sites for news too. Some people use them to learn. It is a big way to connect.

Do you like to share things online?

A social networking service, or SNS, is a way to connect online.

These sites help people build social networks. You can meet others with the same interests or jobs. You can share photos, videos, and ideas. People use phones, tablets, or computers to do this.

There are different types of sites. Some are for socializing with friends. Others are for work, like LinkedIn. Some help you find things, like books.

These sites let you talk to people across the whole world. This is different from meeting at a local market. You can connect with people even if they live far away.

These sites change how we live. People use them to get news. In the USA, many people use them for this. Some people use them for school or work. Even Zoom became a big way to meet for meetings. However, companies may look at your posts. They might see how you act before they hire you. This shows how much these sites affect our real lives.

A social networking service, or SNS, is a digital platform for building relationships.

People use these sites to find others with similar interests or jobs. You can connect with people through shared hobbies or career goals. These services work on many different devices. You might use a desktop computer or a laptop. Many people also use mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This allows people to interact even when they are not together in person.

These services work in several different ways. Some sites are for socialization, which means talking with existing friends. Examples of this include Facebook, Instagram, and X. Other sites are for networking, which focuses on professional communication. LinkedIn is a common site used for jobs and careers. Some services are for social navigation to help you find specific resources. For example, Reddit and Goodreads help users find new information.

You can share digital photos, videos, and diary entries online.

Online social networking has a long history. People suggested using computers for social interaction as early as 1978. Early services like Usenet and ARPANET helped start this movement. In the 1990s, sites like GeoCities and Tripod allowed people to share personal web pages. SixDegrees launched in 1997 and was a very important early site. In 2001, the Korean site Cyworld became a successful general-purpose network. By 2003, MySpace and LinkedIn were both launched for users to enjoy.

Many interesting numbers show how big these networks have become. As of 2017, Facebook had 2.13 billion active monthly users. It also had about 1.4 billion daily active users. In 2013, India saw the largest growth in social media users. A survey in 2013 found that 73% of U.S. adults use these sites. In 2005, MySpace actually had more pageviews than Google. These numbers show how much the digital world has grown.

Social networking affects many parts of our everyday lives. It can change how we get our news from around the world. In the USA, 63% of users consider these sites a main news source. These sites also change how we work and go to school. After the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom became a big way to hold meetings. However, companies sometimes look at your social media posts before hiring you. They may check your photos or comments to learn about your behavior.

A social networking service, often abbreviated as SNS, is an online platform used to build social networks. These digital spaces allow people to create relationships based on shared interests, career goals, or personal backgrounds. Users can interact through various tools on desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. These services facilitate communication that continues beyond in-person interactions. By using these sites, members can exchange content like digital photos, videos, and blog posts. This process helps create, sustain, and develop both social and professional connections across the globe.

Social networking services operate through different mechanisms depending on their specific purpose. Some platforms use a recommendation system linked to trust to connect users. Others rely on user profiles, which allow individuals to list their interests and search for others. The way connections work can also vary significantly between different platforms. On some sites, a member can contact any other member directly. On other platforms, you can only contact people you have a connection to. This creates a chain where you can reach anyone your contacts are connected to. This digital connectivity allows for a massive expansion of social reach compared to traditional offline networking.

Researchers often categorize these services into four distinct types. The first type is socialization services, which are used to interact with existing friends. Examples of socialization services include Facebook, Instagram, and X. The second type is networking services, which focus on non-social interpersonal communication. LinkedIn is a primary example of a networking service used for career and employment purposes. The third type is social navigation, which helps users find specific information or resources. Sites like Reddit or Goodreads serve this purpose. Finally, there are online social networks, which are decentralized and distributed computer networks where users communicate via internet services.

The history of computer-mediated social interaction began long before modern websites. In 1978, authors S. Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff suggested the potential for computer networking in their work, "The Network Nation." Early efforts included services like Usenet, ARPANET, and bulletin board services (BBS). In the mid-1990s, early web communities like GeoCities and Tripod emerged. These allowed users to share personal web pages and interact in chat rooms. By 1997, SixDegrees emerged as a significant early social networking site. In 2001, the Korean site Cyworld became a successful general-purpose network and was one of the first to profit from virtual goods. By 2003, MySpace and LinkedIn were launched, and by 2009, Facebook became the largest social networking site in the world.

The scale of these networks is reflected in massive statistical data. As of 2017, Facebook recorded 2.13 billion active monthly users and 1.4 billion daily active users. The growth of these platforms is global, with India recording the world's largest growth in social media users in 2013. In the United States, a 2013 survey found that 73% of adults use social-networking sites. The speed of growth was evident in 2005 when MySpace had more pageviews than Google. These figures demonstrate how deeply integrated these services have become in global digital life.

Online networking differs from offline networking in several measurable ways. In offline life, most people have between 14 and 56 social ties. In contrast, the number of ties possible online is much higher; for example, Facebook users may average 395 ties. While offline relationships are usually symmetric, online relationships can be asymmetric. This means one person might follow another without a reciprocal connection, which is common on X. Additionally, the strength of ties changes; people typically have 2 to 8 strong ties offline, but may have 9 to 37 strong ties online. The rate of change is also higher online due to technological support.

Social networking services have a significant impact on modern society and daily life. They allow for a "gift economy" where information is shared at almost no cost. These platforms also change how people access news. In the USA, 63% of Facebook or Twitter users consider these networks their main news source. However, the absence of traditional media gatekeepers can affect the reliability of this news. Social media also affects professional life, as companies may review a candidate's social media posts or photos before hiring them. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of platforms like Zoom for facilitating school, work, and government meetings globally.