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. 2021 Apr;24(4):215-222.
doi: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0134. Epub 2020 Oct 13.

Twenty-Five Years of Social Media: A Review of Social Media Applications and Definitions from 1994 to 2019

Thomas Aichner  1 , Matthias Grünfelder  2 , Oswin Maurer  3 , Deni Jegeni  3
Affiliations

Twenty-Five Years of Social Media: A Review of Social Media Applications and Definitions from 1994 to 2019

Thomas Aichner et al. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

In this article, the authors present the results from a structured review of the literature, identifying and analyzing the most quoted and dominant definitions of social media (SM) and alternative terms that were used between 1994 and 2019 to identify their major applications. Similarities and differences in the definitions are highlighted to provide guidelines for researchers and managers who use results from previous research to further study SM or to find practical applications. In other words, when reading an article about SM, it is essential to understand how the researchers defined SM and how results from articles that use different definitions can be compared. This article is intended to act as a guideline for readers of those articles.

Keywords: literature review; social media; social media applications; social media definition; social networks.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Structure and process of the systematic literature review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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