Teens who refuse to use social media

Re:Teens who refuse to use social media by Freak_NL on Wednesday August 29, 2018 @03:49AM (#17866472)

WhatsApp's group chat feature sees the same issues as any other social media platform; spread of disinformation, digital witch hunts, bullying, etc. How is it not a social medium?

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Re:Teens who refuse to use social media by SimplyUnknown on Wednesday August 29, 2018 @09:33AM (#17868071)

My bike has the same problems as my convertible car: It gets flat tires, I get wet when it rains and it costs more energy to go uphill. Is my bike now a convertible car?

The definition of a social network is not in its problems but in its features.

And I'd say one of the defining features of a social network is discovery (e.g. new people, groups that share a common interest, etc.). This is completely lacking in WhatsApp - as you already need to be able to "have access" to the people you want to talk with before you can contact them - but is the integral experience with facebook or instagram.

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Re:Teens who refuse to use social media by fwn on Wednesday August 29, 2018 @05:07AM (#17866837)

> spread of disinformation, digital witch hunts, bullying, etc

That are just features of every communication platform, even the traditional postal services.

AFAIK, most people consider social media platforms to be a subset of communication platforms with many to many communication, discovery, community etc..

I'm with you though that the groups feature of WhatsApp could be seen as some basic form of social media. (For the sake of theoretic precision; certainly not for introducing censorship.)

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Re:Teens who refuse to use social media by ummonk on Wednesday August 29, 2018 @11:11AM (#17868812)

Is having group conversations in person a social medium too?

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