3.10 Summary
This chapter provided an introduction to social media and social networking concepts, services, and issues. Those born in this century may not even know of the time when these services did not exist, and millennials may not be able to imagine their lives without being connected to and through social media/networking. But relatively speaking, social media and social networking sites (SNSs) are new areas of study that have deep implications for how individuals, interest groups, and corporations communicate with both known contacts and perceived audiences. Thus far, scholars have focused on identity formation, communication, social capital, knowledge sharing, and access when examining the expanding digital landscape created by various SNSs, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and more. Emerging scholarly trends may take shape around marketing initiatives, educational potential, and social media’s role in relaying emergency notifications and information. In some respect, the social media/networking field has matured a lot, and in some other respect, maybe we are just getting started! Let’s revisit that thought in the next section of this book as we look at how the social aspect of our online lives is integrated with information seeking.
