Social Media Best Practices

3. OVERVIEW OF SoMe

3.1. Definition of SoMe

SoMe is broadly defined as a category of Internet-based resources integrating user-generated content and user participation.

SoMe was created to offer multifunctional networking tools that tend to offer an increasingly wider variety of services [1]. In practice, it refers to a computer technology that facilitates the exchange of ideas, thoughts and information through virtual networks and communities, and provides users with rapid electronic communication of content, such as personal information, documents, videos and photos. SoMe is changing the way people live, communicate and interact globally [2]. As of April 2022, more than 4.65 billion people are using SoMe, equating to 58.7 percent of the total global population [3]. People use SoMe to communicate, connect and interact with other users, sharing and spreading information expeditiously [4]. Users engage with SoMe through a computer, tablet or smartphone using web-based programs or applications. A growing number (21%) of internet users are accessing the internet exclusively via a smartphone. Rates of internet access via mobile platforms are higher among those aged 25-34 [5].

The typical SoMe user visits or uses an average of 7.4 different SoMe platforms each month and spends an average of about two and a half hours a day using SoMe. Based on an average sleep schedule of between 7 and 8 hours a day, this means that people spend approximately 15 percent of their waking lives using SoMe. In total, the world spends more than 10 billion hours a day using SoMe platforms, which is the equivalent of nearly 1.2 million years of human existence [3].

3.2. Types of SoMe platforms

The top SoMe platforms used globally include Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter. The following table (Table 1) identifies nine types of SoMe according to purpose and functionality [6, 7].

Table 1. Types and characteristics of currently available SoMe platforms

^a instant-messaging plus voice-over-internet platform used primarily by gamers
^b cloud-based, encrypted instant messaging service
^c social networking and microblogging, enables users to send short messages or links up to 360 characters in length
^d news aggregator that collects news articles especially for the internet audience, such as science, trending political issues and viral internet issues
^e features news stories on science, technology and politics that are submitted and evaluated by site users and editors, with an option to comment on all articles
^f enables writers to send newsletters directly to subscribers
^g paid product reviews

Facebook remains the world’s most widely used SoMe platform worldwide, with more than 2.9 billion monthly active users – a number that is growing by approximately 500,000 new users every day. Yet, despite its popularity, Facebook is not the most visited website in the world. Surprisingly, its 25.5 billion monthly visits are nevertheless outnumbered by YouTube’s 34.6 billion and by Google’s 92.5 billion [8].

YouTube’s potential advertising reach is 2.56 billion. YouTube is also part of a small number of SoMe platforms that reach very young age groups. Despite its popularity among younger audiences, YouTube also has some notable statistics for reaching the adult demographic. Nearly three quarters (74%) of all adults use YouTube [9].

With at least 2 billion monthly active users, WhatsApp is one of three social networking platforms with a user base of more than 2 billion – a milestone they reached in 2020. The app’s recent rate of growth has been very high, with the last billion users joining in just four years.

Instagram is the world’s most popular photo-sharing SoMe channel, with a potential advertising reach is 1.452 billion. Demographically, Instagram appeals primarily to users under the age of 35, with 71% of the app’s user base falling into this category. It is also a popular platform for marketing.

TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users. The video-sharing platform premiered in 2017 and quickly became one of the leading international social networks.

Social network X’s potential advertising reach is roughly 465 million. X is particularly popular in the United States where, as of January 2022, it had an audience reach of 76.9 million users. Japan and India were ranked second and third in numbers of X users with more than 58 and 23.6 million users, respectively [10].

The social platforms that the world’s connected population uses varies from month to month, which leads to considerable overlaps between the user bases and advertising audiences of each of these platforms.

3.3. Target audiences on the various SoMe platforms

The ‘Adults Media Use and Attitudes Report 2022’ [5] from the Office of Communication (Ofcom), the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and postal industries in the United Kingdom, indicated that the largest users of online communication platforms were younger, and in particular 16-24 year olds. Sites or apps that were particularly skewed towards younger audiences included Instagram (used by 90% of internet users aged 16-24 compared to 54% of all internet users), Snapchat (83% vs 32%) and TikTok (74% vs 34%). When SoMe users were asked what their ‘main’ site or app was, the top three sites chosen by 16- to 24-year-olds were Instagram (30%), Snapchat (24%) and TikTok (21%). A study revealed that younger people were more likely to name Instagram as their “favourite” SoMe platform (at least in most Western markets) [11]. The study also revealed that TikTok was more popular among younger users. Nearly 9% of female internet users aged 16 to 24 say TikTok was their favourite social platform, compared to just 1.5% of users aged 55 to 64.

While the use of social networking has grown dramatically in recent years across all age groups, users aged 50 and over have nearly doubled from 22% to 42%. Between April 2009 and May 2010, internet users aged 50 to 64 who said they use a social networking site such as MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn grew 88%, and those aged 65 and older grew 100% in their adoption of the sites, compared with a growth rate of 13% for those aged 18-29 [12]. Facebook remains the most popular overall choice among men aged 25-44, although it is a distant third among men aged 16 to 24. WhatsApp, meanwhile, is the most popular choice among older users, with 1 in 5 internet users aged 55 to 64 identifying it as their favourite social platform [3].

3.4. Current utility of SoMe platforms in urology

Over the past decade, SoMe platforms have grown increasingly popular for personal and professional use. The SoMe revolution has quickly spread to healthcare, and urology is no exception, with professionals in the field of urology taking advantage of its opportunities for global education and knowledge sharing [13].

A 2014 survey conducted by the American Urological Association (AUA) found that 71% of respondents had SoMe accounts [1], and by three years later, this number had risen to 74% according to the updated survey in 2017 [14]. Facebook and YouTube were the platforms most commonly used [14]. However, the use of Instagram, LinkedIn, X and Pinterest increased significantly with time [14].

In a 2018 European survey, 99% of young urologists reported using SoMe in a personal or professional context [15]. YouTube and LinkedIn are the most commonly used platforms for professional use [15]. Urology residents are optimistic about the potential of SoMe for education, participation in conferences and the exchange of ideas [16, 17].