Social media have brought a lot of change into the world. In the present moment, social networks are allowing us to improve the quality of our lives in various aspects. Just to sustain my point, here are a few ways in which social media has revolutionized the way we approach the most important aspects of our lives:

Communication. Before Facebook, instant messaging was barely used by people around the world.

Connections. Social media channels now allow you to create new connections with people from the different side of the globe.

Business & Marketing. Nowadays, a business without a social media presence is rarely going to stand out from the crowd.

Branding & Personal Branding. Almost every social media channel gives you the opportunity to create a long-term legacy.

The Job Marketplace. It’s all different now, as employers are not just looking at the resumes of their applicants. Social media tracking is a very common practice that helps employers get a better sense of who they’re hiring.

Now, if we perceive it objectively, social media is simply a helpful tool that we can leverage in order to accomplish our goals and the make the best out of our lives. Yet, not many people consciously perceive it as a tool. Many people forget to take it as it is, so they become addicted.

Michael Lewis, Co-Founder at Aussie writings, suggests:

Social media addiction will have a powerful and negative effect on your life, as it can potentially damage your life balance. That is why managing it properly and creating the necessary boundaries is important for healthy experiences and outcomes.

Nevertheless, in today’s article, we’re going to approach the 3 most prominent social media networks that everyone should leverage in order to improve their daily lifestyle and their overall living conditions. We’ll explore aspects such as the main audience, the benefits, and the functionalities of each of these 3 important networks, so you can decide which platform suits your needs best.

Facebook

Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in the year of 2004. It first started as a hobby, and then it turned out to become the biggest social media network that has ever existed. Nowadays, Facebook has over 400 million daily active users, and it has slowly become the place where everyone displays their name, image, and status.

Main Audience of Users

Facebook doesn’t necessarily have a specific audience of users. Every social category uses it because its functionalities are extremely diverse. However, compared to other popular social networks, Facebook has managed to draw the attention of almost everyone, including toddlers and elders.

Main Functionality

Facebook’s main purpose is to offer an environment in which people can instantly connect with each other and not only. According to a recent April update, Facebook’s Messenger application has reached around 1.2 billion users. Facebook’s a great way to communicate, meet new people, find information, pursue interests, and stay updated with all that’s going on in the world and within your external social environment.

Benefits

Not surprisingly, Facebook brings a lot of benefits to the table:

Networking

Job Landing Opportunities

Efficient Marketing Channels

Social Connections

Hobby Pursuing Opportunities

Infinite Amounts of Information

Helps You Find Anyone

Research Opportunities

And much more. However, each of these benefits is subjective, as each person is taking advantage of this huge social network in different ways. If you want to make the most out of it, identify the main advantages Facebook brings into your life. This way, you’ll be able to consciously refuse any sorts of distractions or time-wasting behaviors that are triggered by the constant use of this complex network.

YouTube

As you may probably know, YouTube is the most popular video sharing platform on the internet. It was founded in 2005, and since then, millions of videos were published and watched by billions of people. YouTube is the first channel that pops into your mind whenever you need to watch a video tutorial, a movie trailer, or maybe a funny video for your entertainment.

Main Audience of Users

Just like Facebook, YouTube users don’t fall into one exact category. People of all ages use it for all sorts of different purposes such as listening to music, acquiring information, or connecting with other users across the channel.

Main Functionality

Obviously, YouTube’s main functionality is video watching and uploading. Because YouTube is basically the twin search engine of Google, you can find videos on almost any possible subject. Moreover, you can use the platform to improve other aspects of your life such as your education.

Benefits

Considering its popularity, there’s no way that benefits would not exist:

Instant Information

A Good Way of Learning Practical Stuff (Visual Learning)

Business and Marketing Opportunities

Huge Amounts of Traffic Ready to Be Approached

Offers You the Chance to Become Viral

Helps You Capture Attention Through Amazing Content

Instagram

Instagram is a desktop and mobile app that gives users the chance to take pictures and videos and instantly share them online. Moreover, you can post content on Instagram, and, with your initiative, it can all be distributed on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr.

It has been launched in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Since then, this particular network has been on the rise, as it has managed to become the largest and most prominent photo-sharing channel on the entire web.

Main Audience of Users

Instagram’s demographics are easier to track. According to Sproutsocial

Main Functionality

Instagram’s main functionality consists in the easy sharing of photos and videos. Besides that, Instagram users can also communicate with each other and share life experiences and memories with their Instagram followers.

Benefits

Well, here are just a few of the benefits Instagram could bring to its users:

Advertising and Marketing Features

Social Networking Opportunities

A Great Place to Establish Your Personal Brand

The Place to Be in Case You’re an Artist

Great Place to Look for All Sorts of Ideas

An Efficient Way of Following People that You Respect and Follow

Conclusion

Social media is and will be (for a long time) a huge influencing factor in our lives. The best we can do is to learn and understand how each social media environment can improve our lives for the better. We must also identify the negative points of view such as addiction or overuse of these channels. Never forget to preserve your balance.