Toward a unified taxonomy of text-based social media use

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Natural History Museum In London
Let’s check out the specimens! | photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images
toonsbymoonlight

The most important thing to know about social media is this: Most people don’t post.

You know this. I know this. God knows this. I am going to limit my analysis to text-based sites because video sites such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are not my ministry. This analysis may transfer in whole or in part to those platforms, for all I know.

The silent majority of every successful text-based social media site is lurkers. These are sane, normal people with sane, normal lives. They are well-balanced and have hobbies. One of those hobbies is visiting social media sites, where they are usually looking for either information or entertainment. They’re the audience.

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