An interdisciplinary field that examines social media platforms as objects of serious scholarly inquiry—analyzing their architecture, algorithms, user practices, economic models, and social effects. Social media studies draws on sociology, anthropology, communication, media studies, and computer science to understand how platforms shape identity, community, politics, and culture. It investigates phenomena like algorithmic curation, influencer economies, digital activism, online harassment, and the transformation of public discourse. The field moves beyond “good or bad” debates to ask how social media actually operates and what it is doing to human interaction.
Example: “Her social media studies research traced how TikTok’s recommendation algorithm created transnational youth subcultures that operated independently of traditional geographic or linguistic boundaries.”
by Dumu The Void March 30, 2026
Get the Social Media Studies mug.