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When the history of humanity is analyzed since ancient times, it is seen that people are trying to communicate with each other with or without a vehicle as much as the conditions and technology of the period allow. With the rapid change in technology, media have emerged that eliminate the time and place limit for each individual and recognize the time that the individual needs to access and learn information (Gulsecen, Gursul, Bayrakdar, Cilengir, & Canim, 2010, s. 787). Media and social media are the most important of these. The media has actively entered the lives of people since the beginning of the 19th century and has since become the most original and most distinctive part of society (Maigret, 2003, s. 20-21).
Social media, which has reached widespread use as a result of the adaptation of internet-based applications to smart devices in today's conditions, is the fast and effective spread of information, influencing the society and periods, directing, and with its continuous accessibility, it also comes across as a new communication medium.
Social media is “a simultaneous digital platform that collects the accumulation of old technology, emerging with new technologies, sharing information and communication” (Badbaz, 2015). So how did social media become so popular? It is observed that these channels have gradually started to become aware of people as a result of the need for different communications. According to Bazbaz, it is now possible to see the presence of social media in a significant part of our lives. We can learn what people are experiencing, meet people and communicate (Badbaz, 2015). The influential writer on the digitized world Castells (2000a, 2000b, 2012) argument on network society and its economic and social reflections are important. He believes that digital technologies such as social media have an essential role in creating a new global economy, social structure and a new virtual culture. And Lupton (2015) believes that, “his work has led the way in acknowledging the importance of these technologies in contemporary social formations” (Lupton, 2015, p. 21).
The usage rates of the internet, especially social media channels, have reached an important figure in the world population. According to the 2019 report of Wearesocial; In the 4th quarter of the year, 4.47 billion internet users, 58% of the world population, 3.72 billion social media users, 48% of the world population, 5.15 billion mobile users, world population 67%, 3.66 billion mobile social media users constitute 47% of the world population (We Are Social, 2019).
The total number of users is 4.47 billion, which means more than half of the world. The number of mobile internet users is 4.07 billion. This rate shows that more than half of the world Internet users are mobile users. When we look at the monthly activities of internet users, 91% of users watch online videos on the Internet, 51% spend time with vlog broadcasts, 69% listen to music through internet services, and 47% are online radio listeners. In the 4th quarter of 2019, the number of social media users reached 3.72 billion. The number of social media users and mobile social media users 48% of the world has reached 3.66 billion (We Are Social, 2019).
In the ranking of the most used social media platforms in the said report, Facebook ranks first with 2.41 billion users. Youtube (2 billion users), the second most used social media platform, is followed by WhatsApp. Instagram takes the fifth place in the ranking (We Are Social, 2019).