Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

Is the social (media) experiment over? Definitely not—but it’s shifting

Last month, Atlantic writer Ian Bogost posed the incendiary question, “Is the age of social media ending?” No, according to our analysts. But it’s definitely changing, which presents an opportunity to reach younger consumers.

As social networking of the 2010s (think Facebook) gives way to social media and entertainment (think TikTok), the entire social ecosystem of the internet is changing. But “it’s always changing,” noted our analyst Debra Aho Williamson on our “Behind the Numbers: The Daily” podcast, adding that social media’s constant evolution is a “really exciting and bright” aspect.

Gen Z isn’t leaving social media—they’re moving toward more interaction.

“They want to use social media to be informed and entertained, but they also want to have interactions and engagements with their friends,” said Williamson. “I think they’re going to be using platforms in multiple different ways and [with] multiple different types of platforms to meet all of those needs.”

“We have these apps that are aimed at young people, BeReal being one of the most common examples, but there are others,” said Williamson. “They’re all more focused on this authentic communication in small groups, which to me sounds a whole heck of a lot like the way Facebook started.”

So what’s “over”?

  • Williamson said Bogost is “laying out the transition from social networking.” Digital interactions with in-person friends have given way to social media, “which is much more about broadcasting information, viewpoints, thoughts, videos, and people consuming those.”
  • Social media is not a series of ending chapters, but a “continuum,” according to Williamson, who called the current era “a fluid change from one type of communication and interaction and engagement to another, with hints of the previous one.”

The feeling of a social media shift can in many ways be attributed to a shift toward digital relationships, rather than physical, noted our analyst Jasmine Enberg, who confirmed that connections remain “important to social media, social entertainment, content creation, and consumption.”

  • Teen and young adult behaviors are what drive change in communication and social media, according to Williamson.
  • And by that logic, social media isn’t going anywhere, because teens and young adults “don’t know a world without social media,” Enberg observed.

Listen to the full podcast.

This was originally featured in the eMarketer Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.