It's no hidden fact that social media, on several platforms, is an essential part of our daily lives. It's also no secret that we all tend to spend more of our time on a certain app more than others. Whether it be Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, or TikTok, social media plays a prominent role in the daily lives of pretty much anyone with a mobile phone or computer.
Instagram's platform includes a feed consisting of a series of shared photos from people you follow. These photos are captioned with witty, humorous, and informative comments that allow the audience to really soak in the full impact of the post. Instagram also utilizes the use of stories, which allows users to post pictures, videos, or share other public posts to their accounts for 24 hours. If anyone wishes to have these posts on their account for longer than one day, they can add them to highlights.
With so many endless opportunities and different types of posts on this one social media platform, I would have to rank Instagram as the best. Basically, you're outside of the status quo nowadays if you don't participate in Instagram's platform. Businesses, celebrities, bloggers, and personal accounts are just a few of the different types of accounts that can be found all on one app.
Snapchat
This app allows users to send pictures and videos back and forth to each other in a quick fashion. The platform has also expanded to having news stories within the app that are featured on a public page. Snapchat even allows account holders to save their memories to the app and then features them on the anniversary date a year or so later.
While this may seem simple, Snapchat has really kept up to date with the latest trends in social media and was the first app to debut the use of stories. Besides the efficient form of communication that this app provides, it also reformatted the way news is brought to younger generations. Due to this trendy, newsy, efficient app, I would have to rate it as second best on the social media list.
TikTok
This platform is the newest of the others, but has definitely made a fast upcoming. This app allows users to create up to 60-second videos of pretty much anything. The videos are then posted on the For You Page (FYP), the main feed of the app, and then other users are able to like, comment, and share the videos.
TikTok has become an outlet for multiple different types of media in their videos. News, comical relief, informative sketches, and helpful tutorials are just a few of the amazing videos that can be seen just scrolling through the FYP. With so much valuable information so easily accessible at the tips of our fingers, I would definitely rate this young platform number three on my list.
Twitter consists of users typing out anything they wish and easily sharing it to the main feed. Pictures and videos can also be shared, but this app is predominantly a word-friendly platform. Just scrolling through the feed, tweets upon tweets gather with so many different types of information.
Twitter is an outlet very prominently used for expressing opinions and news. It's an easy way to quickly put out thoughts and promptly reshare others. This can be a good and a not-so-good aspect about the app. Despite its informative potential, Twitter is a breeding ground for feuds and unkind words. The app does have humorous content, but due to its negative community, that so often seems to be created, I would have to rate it as fourth on my list.
Last but not least, Facebook. This old stomping ground seemed to be the pinnacle of social media back in the day, but has since been surpassed. The platform allows users to share posts consisting of just words, photos, or videos. The app also allows the resharing, liking, and commenting on other posts as well. Facebook did recently add the feature of stories to the app as well, in an effort to keep up with the younger, trendier apps.
Despite the platform being a bit outdated and having a reputation with the older generations, Facebook still provides plenty of information through news articles and other shareable posts. But, at the end of the day, it just doesn't have the potential other trendy apps do, but it is a great way to keep in touch with your grandparents or find a roommate for college.
