A common desire among us is to have our lives noticed and positively regarded. When social media platforms were introduced in the mid-2000s, they fulfilled this desire to be seen and social media quickly became addictive. Social media profiles allow people to express themselves, showcase their great qualities (while strategically hiding the bad qualities.) Social media profiles also help people feel noticed and heard.
It started with personal presences online, but it wasn’t long before businesses caught on and started to use social media to get their ChatbotsBuilder messenger heard and to get their products noticed.
Today, social platforms have recognised the power they hold and they’re starting to evolve. The social media profiles of popular public figures are becoming easier and easier to monetise. Social media platforms are continuing to add new features and inventing constant new trends.
Here are 5 ways social media will likely evolve in the next few years:
1. In-app search engines within social media platforms will become more advanced. Let’s use Instagram as an example. Right now, you can search for specific locations, specific hashtags, and specific key words. Within the next few years, Instagram will likely evolve and they’ll have a search bar that allows users to type in more advanced searches. For example, if an Instagram user wants to know what label a certain actress wore in a specific scene of a movie, that’s the type of specific thing they might be able to search for on Instagram in the near future. Social media platforms might soon have a google-type search engine without ever having to leave that platform. Does this mean that Google might start to be used less because of social media? It’s definitely a strong likelihood.
2. Premium social media upgrades will offer an entirely different social media experience. It’s very possible that soon, paid premium memberships will be available on social platforms that offer a promise of privacy (no data harvesting if you’re a premium member) along with a promise of zero ads, and zero censorship. It’s an anti-censorship social hub that has no algorithms to control what you can or cannot see or share. This innovative social hub is a wave of the future, as it promises privacy (no data sharing) which truly means that it was built for the people.
3. Video stories will start to look professionally edited. Videos are going to become more prominent on social media in the near future. It’s likely that more and more people are going to start to use professional apps to edit and create video content. For example, instead of sharing an album of photos from their recent week in Mexico, they’ll share a video highlight reel of their trip. They’ll take tons of videos during their trip and less photos. Then, they’ll put together a professional-looking video that’s essentially a mash-up of videos from their trip – almost like a music video. This will, of course, glamorize their trip, but that’s exactly what people want to do. Just like professional videos are created of weddings, people will start to create professional-looking videos of their vacations, their birthdays, and more.
4. Every business will start hiring a social media manager. Businesses are already starting to take social media very seriously. More and more businesses are starting Instagram accounts, but the benefits of social media for business are still being understated. Soon, businesses will be taking social media so seriously that we’ll start to see almost every business hiring professional social media managers. It makes sense, since effective social media management does lead to more customers for your business. Frankly, it’s surprising that today, most businesses continue to manage their social media themselves instead of hiring a professional. That will soon change, which will lead to more job opportunities for social media savvy youth.
5. More awareness will be created surrounding the cons of social media. As social media evolves and becomes more and more addictive, more and more awareness will be created about the cons of social media and its toxins. Social media does come with a load of negative effects, and in the next few years, the discussions about the toxic potential of social media will become more popular.
