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It can be said that it was more or less from the year 2000 onwards that social networks began to infiltrate our lives. At that time, social networks took on different forms from those we know them by today.
We had MySpace , Orkut , Hi5 and a few others like it. These spaces were greece email list more for people to connect with each other, to show their photos and reveal something of their personality, like a digital resume to introduce themselves to each other.
However, these networks were mainly aimed at young people and had a number of limitations. It was only in 2004, when Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook as a joke among friends, that the seeds were sown for what social networks have become today.
Once again, we are connected to different people, but there has been an evolution. These communities also have a strong presence from brands and information producers who use news feeds to capture users' attention.
These people, in turn, joined (and many continue to join) networks such as Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . A kind of need arises to share our lives in the digital environment, to express who we are and to interact with the world.
Sociologists have even formulated the FoMO Syndrome (Fear of Missing Out) , that desire that moves people to stay connected so as not to miss anything that is happening.
However, at the end of the day, we put our smartphones on the bedside table after checking our feed one last time and fall asleep without realizing how important social networks have become in our lives. Would we be able to live without them? Yes, we would, but the adaptation would not be easy and the way we communicate would not change either.
Social media has dramatically changed the way we interact and live our lives. With the Internet becoming a necessity in the workplace and in our homes, most people who are online spend their time browsing these digital networks .
And the truth is that, without realizing it, we use social media to do things that we used to do in other ways.
What impact have social networks had on our lives?
News consumption
One of the aspects that has changed the most in our lives is the way we consume news. If before we used to watch newspapers or television to find out what was happening in the world, now we get that information from social media. It's almost as if we had a journalist who was constantly updating us, sharing what was happening live on our news feed .
We don’t have to wait for the 1pm or 8pm news to find out what the world is like. On social media , we can directly follow dozens of newspapers and TV channels and receive constant updates on the most important news. Sometimes, we don’t even need to follow these pages, because our own friends already share this content on their timelines.
Free time
Unfortunately, this isn’t such a positive point, but it’s still true. Social media has changed the way we spend our free time. Gone are the days when people would go to parks or libraries when they had a little time to relax.
With easy access to social networks , we can consult these media even when we are on the bus and have conversations with our friends through the chats included in social networks.
Socialization
Even though many people continue to meet up every day and week to have a coffee and catch up, let's be honest: how many of you haven't seen a friend for at least a month but don't miss them because you constantly talk on social media?
Although it was already possible to have conversations remotely, via SMS or phone call , chats on social networks make the process easier and are generally faster, allowing us to have conversations that can last for hours. Many users even feel that, while connected to Facebook , they feel at home, or in a bar, always within reach of anyone.
Networking
Social networks exist not only for users to stay in touch with each other, but also to form new alliances. These alliances are usually with people who share common interests. These networks allow us to discover new information that is useful for our lives, share ideas and even find professional opportunities.
Take LinkedIn , for example , which allows people to create professional networks to find jobs or receive tips on how to improve their professional positioning. With these networks, people are starting to spend less and less time looking for jobs through newspapers and instead turning to social media.
