This page is a timeline of social media. Major launches, milestones, and other major events are included.
Overview by decade DecadeDescription1970s and priorThe PLATO system (developed at the University of Illinois and subsequently commercially marketed by Control Data Corporation) offers early forms of social media with Notes, PLATO's message-forum application; TERM-talk, its instant-messaging feature; Talkomatic, perhaps the first online chat room; News Report, a crowd-sourced online newspaper, and blog; and Access Lists, enabling the owner of a notes file or other application to limit access to a certain set of users, for example, only friends. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea of Usenet in 1979 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, and it was established in 1980.From Usenet to CoWebs: interacting with social information spaces, Christopher Lueg, Danyel Fisher, Springer (2003), , 1980sAs operating systems with a graphical user interface, such as Windows and Mac OS, begin to emerge and gain popularity, this creates an environment which allows for early social media platforms to thrive and exist. Bulletin board systems (BBS) and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) were popular during this time period, and IRC is still widely used today. The WELL, established in 1985, is one of the oldest still-operating online communities. Its name is an acronym for "The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link", coined by Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog.1990sThe first massive social networking websites meant for outside of a specific group of users, LunarStorm, Classmates.com, and SixDegrees.com, are launched. Up to this point, most, if not all, social networks are meant for a specific audience (for ex. students at a university). ICQ is also launched, and remains operational up until the 2020s.2000sVarious notable social media platforms such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter are developed and released, and blogging begins to gain popularity, with platforms like Blogger, WordPress, and Tumblr enabling easy creation of blogs with little to no effort. Instant messaging platforms such as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and Windows Live Messenger also become increasingly popular.2010sMany social media platforms are now thriving, and new ones are appearing sporadically. This includes popular blogs, instant messaging services (e.g. WhatsApp), and various social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram. With advances in smartphone technology, almost all social media services now have their own mobile apps, with some even having computer programs.2020sFollowing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media, many people have grown aware of the negative mental health consequences of excessive social media use and the widespread presence of misinformation across social media. Negative sentiments toward social media continue to grow, and many countries adopt new regulations, such as laws around screen time for children. The majority of users of social media services now prefer using mobile apps, with apps such as TikTok, Instagram, Threads, and X (formerly Twitter) garnering and maintaining hundreds of millions of active users daily. Most well-established platforms (and influencers) focus on optimizing content for engagement, algorithmic personalization, and maximizing revenue through targeted advertising.
Timeline by year