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+--- Thread: Research What is ‘social media’? Study highlights public confusion about the term (/thread-20832.html)
What is ‘social media’? Study highlights public confusion about the term - C C - Jul 10, 2026
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1135642
INTRO: Research from Aston University has shown that there is no clearly accepted definition for the term ‘social media’ by the public, or what websites and platforms are classified as such.
Psychological research into social media tends to focus on its potential impact on mental health and wellbeing. PhD researcher Evelyn Murray, Dr Charlotte Pennington (primary supervisor), Dr Daniel Shaw and Professor Michael Larkin from Aston University’s Department of Psychology wanted to understand what platforms the public considers to be social media, their views on common negative and positive characteristics of social media, and how much they agreed with common definitions. They recruited almost 1,000 participants who were active on social media to determine their views.
‘Social media’ is broadly defined as an online platform to share digital media in a social capacity. Commonly accepted features of social media include social interaction, user-generated content, content sharing and exchange, and network and community building. Social media sites can include social networking sites, forums, blogs, social gaming, video sharing, and virtual worlds, and as technology advances, the definitions fail to capture the full picture.
As academics and policymakers discuss potential harms and regulations, particularly for young people, an agreed term becomes more important than ever. Confusion about what platforms constitute social media could lead to a misunderstanding about what should be supervised or regulated. For example, if a blanket ban on social media for under-16s included WhatsApp, classed by many as social media, this could affect communication between parents and children, many of whom use the platform... (MORE - no ads)
PAPER: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000680