AN INTRODUCTION

 

Do you have any type of social medi account? If not you are one of the few, a large number of us use social media as part of our everyday lives, with 68% of women and 57% of men admitting to being daily Facebook users (Ernst & Young Sweeney, 2014). 

 

When was the last time you recall using or accessing a social media site? Was it while you were waiting for the bus, distracting yourself when you know you should have been listening in class or was it with a specific purpose in mind, contacting a friend or sharing a photograph?

 

I am a big social media user though I do not have a high level of engagement on any of the platforms I possess. Why do I have these accounts then? If I was to recall the last time I found myself using social media I believe it would have been to contact a friend. The time before that I will admit I was simply procastingating, as I found myself scrolling further and further down the rabbit hole.

 

There is an abundance of research on who uses and how we use social media. Asking questions such as the who (the ages, the social status and the geographical demographics) or questioning the types of devices on which we use social media. 

 

The questions that I am posing are slightly different.

 

- Does location play a role in whether we view or engage in social media?

- Did you look, post or share?

- Was it out of boredom or a desire to feel connected?

- Why did you become a part of the social media network in the first place?

- Why? Why? Why? Why then? Why in this specific situation or social setting? Why in that way?

 

These 'whys' will be explored by reflecting on my own social media use and with the assistance of the accounts of others. It is through this is that we may start to understand the participants of social media networks from a spatial perspective.