Social networking services have grown rapidly due to their ease and openness, and now have a marketing, political, and social impact beyond personal communication. However, this openness has also led to a number of problems, such as the uncontrolled spread of information, that need to be discussed.

Introduction

Social network services (SNSs) are perhaps the most popular web services today. Compared to existing web-based social media, SNSs have gained popularity due to their simplicity and openness, and have become a part of users’ daily lives. With the recent proliferation of smartphones, the impact of SNSs has increased, and they have gone beyond communication and information sharing between individuals to become a marketing tool for companies, and a means of public communication in politics and entertainment. However, this openness has also led to a number of problems.

What is SNS?

SNS stands for Social Network Service and refers to an online platform that allows users to freely communicate, share information, and expand their social circle. Representative examples include Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram, each of which provides services in its own way. Initially, SNSs were mainly used through PCs, but with the spread of smartphones, SNSs have become more mobile, and the number of users and time spent on SNSs has been steadily increasing. In David Kirkpatrick’s book, The Facebook Effect, he says, “Facebook is based on primal human instincts. We all have an instinct to belong, a little vanity, and a certain amount of voyeurism,” which explains Facebook’s popularity.
A broader definition of social networking would include traditional blogs and communities that allow users to communicate and share information. However, given the time period in which the term SNS was coined and when it began to have a life-changing and social impact, it’s fair to say that what we now refer to as social media is a type of SNS. There are several different types of social media, including profile-based services, such as Facebook, and microblogging, such as Twitter. While most of these services use slightly different methods to differentiate themselves, we’ll focus on the two most popular and contrasting types.

Facebook Features

Facebook is an open community, meaning you need to be friends with people to share content. However, it’s easy to create a page and anyone who friended you can see your personal information and content updates. It’s easy to use and open, and because of this, it’s highly adaptable to mobile and currently has the largest number of active users in the world. It’s also a popular marketing tool for businesses because of its large user base and the ease of gauging favorability through the “like” feature.

Features of Twitter

Twitter differs from traditional blogs in that it delivers short, fragmented content (140 characters or less) in real time to users who are interested in that content. As a result, Twitter is more like a messenger. Unlike Facebook, Twitter has a greater openness and anonymity, as you can follow someone without having to accept a friend request, which allows for faster spread of information and feedback.

Advantages of Facebook and Twitter

Blogs, cafes, and other traditional social media are losing ground to SNSs. The main reasons for this competition are as follows.
First, they are highly adaptable to mobile. Compared to traditional social media, the currently popular SNSs have simpler pages and can be used seamlessly anytime, anywhere via mobile, which is a big advantage in the modern world where people want to communicate and connect with others constantly.
Second, the simplicity of the service reduces the burden on users in terms of content delivery. In general, blogs post in-depth content or content with detailed photos, which can be a barrier for users. In SNS, however, users can simply express their instantaneous feelings about an issue or their daily life, which makes it easier to fulfill their desire to express.
Third, because of these advantages, reactions to content are also instantaneous and easy to receive via mobile. This is social networking in the truest sense of the word, and the speed at which it happens is markedly different from traditional social media. It’s similar to how the proliferation of high-speed internet in the mid-90s led to a shift away from email as a means of personal communication, in favor of faster and easier internet messengers.

Expanding social media capabilities

At its core, social media is about socializing and expanding your network through communication and information sharing between individuals. Communication is centered around personal relationships: acquaintances, family, and people with the same interests. However, as the number of service users has increased and the speed of information transmission has increased, SNSs have been utilized for various purposes beyond their original function. Let’s take a look at some examples.

SNS marketing examples

The speed and immediacy of information dissemination on social media has become an essential element of marketing for companies. In addition, the ability to deliver customized information directly to targeted audiences and the low cost of social media has made it increasingly valuable for marketing.
The “Levi’s iSPY” event was a way for a model to broadcast her location in real time via cell phone, and for Twitter users who followed her to share the location and find her, they could win a pair of jeans. In Australia, 300,000 people participated in the event, which generated a lot of publicity for little cost. Samsung used a comment contest to give away a laptop, which helped drive positive comments about the product, while YES24 used a photo contest to increase page visits and time spent on site. These types of events are still going on today because they are low-cost, fast, and spread information quickly and widely.
Politicians and celebrities are highly socialized, and they have to constantly expose themselves to the public in order to get elected and to be popular. Social media allows them to easily reach hundreds of thousands of people, and they can be more approachable than they would be in a formal setting, which is why they use social media to promote themselves. The pros and cons of this are debated, but the fact that most politicians and celebrities are on social media is a strong indication of their influence.
There are many other areas where social media is being utilized. In the public sector, SNS is used to publicize policies and receive complaints, and by making the process of resolving complaints public, the image of the organization is enhanced. In addition, social commerce, which is e-commerce using SNS, is gaining popularity by applying a large discount rate and spreading it through SNS, and games are also being used as an element to add fun by linking SNS.

Problems caused by the pervasiveness of SNS

Despite the above advantages and positive use cases, there are also various problems associated with the virality and openness of SNS. Due to the nature of SNS, a very small amount of information is posted, and since it is delivered to an unspecified number of people in real time, untrue facts are easily circulated and spread without filtering.
Typical problems include personal attacks such as ‘witch hunts’ and ‘identity theft’, the indiscriminate spread of unverified false facts and information, and social unrest caused by the mass production of uncomfortable issues. In the case of the assault on a pregnant woman at the presidential election party and the food court burning incident, the spread of false facts through one-sided allegations and attacks by netizens resulted in economic and psychological damage to those whose personal identities were disclosed, along with criticism on social media. In addition, rumors of a new crime of selling organs under the guise of selling dried seafood and anesthetizing them with ethyl ether spread indiscriminately and rapidly on social media, causing social unrest among the public.
As criticism of these issues has grown, various discussions are underway to address them, and users are taking action. It is expected that positive changes can be made through this process.

Changes and Prospects in the SNS Market

In order to solve the limitation that users may get bored due to the limited content, various SNS companies around the world are looking for changes to retain users by linking with various applications such as games or utilizing the characteristics of each page to provide elements that trigger user interest. In addition, various models are being developed to generate revenue, such as advertising on web pages and selling items such as emoticons and gift cards, and the age range of SNS users is also expanding. Therefore, the SNS market is expected to continue to grow in the future.