Is social media a fad?

Every decade is marked by fads. Fads define generations and remind us of past times. Is social media just a fad of our generation? Similar to lava lamps in the 1970s or the boy bands of the 90s? Seoteric.com gave us 5 reasons why they believe social media is NOT a fad:

1. Social media is fully integrated into our lives

2. It is fast, friendly, free and allows us to connect and share with friends

3. Social media is growing in users and in volume

4. Both businesses and individuals see the value in social media

5. Social media has already begun infiltrating and influencing search engines

I agree with all these points, however I think the main idea here is that social media is complex and dynamic- just like we are. Social networks alone are expansive, more exist than we could possibly imagine- most we probably have never even heard of. There is a social network for every type of person: Ravelry for knitting fanatics, VampireFreaks.com, an online pub and virtual happy hour bar called Fubar and more.

Social media is dynamic:

Social media delivers our every need- news, conversation, community support and even fundraising. Social media consumers that have grown up in this era probably have no understanding that you can turn on your television every night around 6:00pm and listen to the news. By why watch the news when you can interact with the news? Twitter allows us to tweet directly at NBC to learn more about a story or to even act as a gatekeeper to our followers by tweeting about specific current events. After having so much direct involvement in the world around us, I find it hard to believe that we would give that up.

Social media is complex:

A fad is typically one thing- a shared enthusiasm for ONE thing. Social media is not a fad because social media is so much more than just ONE thing. Social media allows us to be present, build relationships, join in on a conversation, understand ideas, create ourselves and communicate freely. The idea of social media is too complicated to be lumped in one fad that will eventually pass. Trends within social media could be considered fads, but social media as a whole is so much more than that.