Seventy-six percent of American adults online ###### using social networking sites such as ######, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest as ###### July 2015. This is up from ###### 26 percent in 2008. On social ###### sites like these, users may create ###### profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, ###### research, and share thoughts, photos, music, ###### and more.]]>
Opponents ###### social networking say that the sites ###### face-to-face communication and waste time. They ###### social media negatively affects children's brains ###### behavior, and helps to spread false ###### potentially dangerous information.]]>
The Beginnings Of Social Media SixDegrees.com is considered the first social ###### site. It existed from 1997-2001. Other ###### networking sites soon followed, such as ###### in 2002, MySpace in 2003, Facebook ###### 2004, Twitter in 2006, Pinterest in ###### and Google+ in 2012.

In October ###### 2012, Facebook reached one billion monthly ###### worldwide, making it the most popular ###### networking site with 1 in 7 ###### on the planet as members.]]>
According to Pew Research Center, ###### percent of U.S. adults who go ###### also use Facebook. Every day, Facebook ###### log 4.5 billion "Likes," 4.75 billion ###### shares and over 300 million photo ######.]]>
User Ages And Habits As the sites have become increasingly ######, the user base has expanded from ###### and young adults to include more ###### over the age of 50. Facebook ###### as a site for college students, ###### after two years it opened registration ###### everyone. As of January 2014, about ###### percent of users were 18 to ###### years old, 24 percent were 15 ###### 34 years old, 31 percent were ###### 35 to 54, and almost 16 ###### were 55 and older.

As of ###### 2014, nearly two-thirds of social media ###### accessed sites from their computers once ###### day.]]>
Social media's largest source ###### revenue is advertising. The revenue from ###### media ad sales is expected to ###### $32.9 billion by the end of ######.]]>
Social Media During Election Cycle

Social networking sites play a ###### role in shaping the political landscape. ###### the 2016 presidential race, candidates Hillary ###### and Donald Trump consistently campaigned via ###### networking sites.]]>
On June 12, ######, the White House announced that it ###### joining Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and ######.]]>
###### of September 8, 2011, 35 global ###### of state had Twitter accounts. More ###### 40 percent of global religious leaders ###### the Dalai Lama and the pope ###### on Twitter, as well. The 2012 ###### election set the record for most-tweeted ###### with more than 327,00 tweets per ###### being sent when Obama was announced ###### winner.]]>
In 2010, anti-government protests in ###### spawned the Arab Spring, a wave ###### revolutionary demonstrations in countries across the ###### East and North Africa.]]>
More Harm Than Good? Companies worldwide struggle to manage employee ###### network access at work for business ######. In 2012, more than half of ###### surveyed reported visiting non-work related websites. ###### businesses fear that social media endangers ###### businesses' security.

Seven million households that ###### Facebook reported problems in 2012.]]>
A January ###### study published in the Journal of ###### Developmental Psychology found that college freshmen ###### more than two hours a day ###### Facebook, a habit that harmed their ######. Sophomores and juniors only experienced a ###### impact on their grade point averages ###### they used Facebook while studying.]]>
Social media is now pervasive in ###### world. As existing social networks continue ###### expand, niche social networking sites are ###### created for educators, medical professionals and ###### groups. Meanwhile, new social media sites ###### popping up regularly.]]>
Proponents of social media ###### on the benefits and possible advances ###### society that these networks may bring. ######, dissenters worry the dangers and wasted ###### far outweigh any benefit.]]>