After introducing the topic in a previous post, let us move to the core of the issue: what social networks are and the social reasons behind their success.

  1. What is a social network?

A social network (SN from now on), or social network platform, is an IT platform generally accessible through the World Wide Web (www) that allows users and groups of users to interact by sharing information and data. These networks are usually thematic, for example dedicated to music, science, friendship, and so on, although the most widespread ones today, such as Facebook, tend to integrate different users and interests.

In an SN, users can share personal information about their past life, interests, and current activities, generally in real time. An SN also allows multimedia content, such as photos and videos, to be shared.

Some SNs also allow users to collaboratively share office-type files, such as documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, through affiliated services. See, for example, Google Drive, which is easily accessible with a Google account that also gives access to the Google Plus social network.

  1. Social reasons behind the success of social networks

Without claiming to be a sociologist, I can highlight a subset of the purely human dynamics that contribute to the unstoppable spread of SNs:

  • the human need for sociality, for which SNs offer a substitute for real relationships that nevertheless seems to engage and satisfy many people
  • the possibility of communicating and exchanging information and data immediately and easily (see the next post)
  • the possibility of being visible and becoming known to the world
  • the extreme “democratic” nature of SNs, where the visibility of an individual user is not decided by higher bodies but democratically built by the “electronic herd”[1]
  • the need for knowledge, one of the psychological needs of human beings, which can appear in many forms: the need for scientific knowledge, the need for news, curiosity for learning**[2]**
  • finally, I add a socioeconomic aspect: access by many users to a single portal can generate wealth and profit, and is therefore promoted, facilitated, and encouraged by the advertising industry and other economic actors, as we will see more clearly in the next post

In a few days, we will analyze some of the technological reasons behind their success. Stay tuned.

For any questions, leave a comment below.

QUOTES

[1] For the definition of “electronic herd”, see T. L. Friedman’s interesting essay The Lexus and the Olive Tree.

[2] On the psychological needs of human beings, see Maslow’s theories or more recent texts such as Amori difficili by T. Cantelmi and R. Barchiesi.

HEADER IMAGE Photo by Sabri Tuzcu on Unsplash