According to the BBC, 63% of Brits believe that social media lacks transparency, suggesting that trust in social media platforms is rapidly declining. This is largely due to the rate at which social media continues to expand, making it difficult to regulate policies and processes.
In order to combat anxiety, some social platforms claim to have put systems in place, with YouTube stating that it employs 10,000 people to monitor its content. Facebook claimed that 99.5% of terrorist propaganda was removed before it could be seen, but how easy is it to monitor ‘fake news’ and posts that appear to come from Joe Bloggs?
Social media influencers could play a big part in the decline. Until recently*, influencers were not obligated to declare if there was an incentive associated with a post they shared, such as free products or money, leading us to believe that an influencer genuinely used a product. Around 54% of 18-34-year-olds are influenced by online suggestions, highlighting the importance we place on influencer figures.
Of a survey conducted across 23 different countries, Britain was the most distrusting of various sources, including social media, newspapers and online news sites. This is hardly surprising when you consider stories that seem to surface relentlessly about the mishandling of private data.
So, could this ultimately lead to the demise of social media? According to a survey, 40% of people said they had deleted at least one social media account last year, but is that down to a state of maturity across social media users? And with 11 new social media users every second, in comparison, this number is not as significant.
As technology becomes more sophisticated in digging out the things on social media that we don’t like to see, we can begin to build a better relationship with social media.
One way that #TeamWild keeps on top of the moving trends, algorithms and regulations of social media is by attending regular training days. From this, we filter knowledge across the team and utilise this in our clients’ social media marketing strategies to keep ahead of the curve.
*Influencers must now adhere to this official guide.