You ever find yourself scrolling on your phone, deep into something, and then you stop.
And you think, wait a minute, is this social media?
It’s a weird question for 2025.
Because the lines have gotten all blurry.
What used to be a simple category with a few big names is now, well, a total mess.
It is a confusion that a lot of people are feeling. So let’s try to figure out what counts as social media now.
The Classic Definition is Basically Obsolete
Remember the good old days?
Social media was easy to spot. It was Facebook. It was maybe Twitter.
You had a profile with your picture on it. You added your friends from school or work.
Then you posted status updates, you know, about your dog or what you had for breakfast.
The whole point was a direct network. It was a digital version of your real-life social circle. But that model is so… 2015.
It just doesn’t cover all the bases anymore, not even close.
So, What’s the Real Deal in 2025? The New Ingredients
Instead of a strict definition, it’s better to think about the ingredients.
If a website or app has a few of these key things going on, then yeah, it’s probably social media. It doesn’t need to have all of them but normally has a couple.
The Community Angle
This is the big one.
Social media is now less about your personal friends and more about finding your people.
It’s about communities built around a shared interest. This could be anything really.
Think about a subreddit for a niche video game. Or a Discord server for people who love gardening. Or a Facebook Group for owners of a specific type of car.
You might not know a single person there in real life. But you interact, you share ideas, you connect. That’s the social part.
The Content Machine
The other part of this whole thing is that you’re not just a consumer. You’re a creator.
Every time you post a video on TikTok, or a picture on Instagram, you’re making content.
But it goes way beyond that.
Writing a review on Goodreads? That’s user-generated content that influences others. Answering a question on a Quora thread, that’s it too.
The platform is basically just a stage, and the users provide the show.
The Algorithm is King
This is the secret sauce that changed everything.
You don’t just see posts from people you follow in the order they posted them. Not usually.
An algorithm is watching what you like, what you watch, and who you talk to.
It then feeds you more of that stuff. To keep you on the app longer.
This is why your TikTok “For You” page can feel like it reads your mind. It’s what makes these platforms so sticky and, let’s be honest, a little addictive.
The Gray Areas: Is This Stuff Social Media Too?
This is where it gets fun and a little confusing.
A bunch of apps and sites that we use all the time have these social ingredients. They’ve been sneaking social features in for years.
Gaming Platforms: Look at Discord. It’s all about community servers. Twitch is a whole social system built around streaming. Even in-game chat in something like Call of Duty is a form of social interaction.
Niche Hobby Apps: Strava is a huge one. Athletes post their runs and bike rides, give each other “kudos,” and comment. It’s Facebook for people who sweat. Letterboxd, where you log and review movies, is the same for film buffs.
Messaging Apps: This is a tricky one. A one-on-one text in WhatsApp isn’t social media. But what about a Telegram Channel with thousands of subscribers? Or a massive WhatsApp group? It starts to look a lot like a community feed.
Shopping and Review Sites: Go to any product on Amazon. You have user reviews, star ratings, and a Q&A section where users help each other. It’s a community creating content around a product. It absolutely counts in a way.
Why Does It Matter What We Call It?
Okay, so who cares what the definition is? It’s just a word.
Well, it kind of does matter. For one thing, there’s your own time and mental health.
You might think you’re just “looking up recipes” on Pinterest but you’ve been scrolling for 45 minutes. That’s a social media-type loop.
Knowing what these platforms are helps you be more aware of how you’re using them. It helps you control your screen time better.
It also matters for business.
Marketers are looking for any place where a community gathers. They don’t care if it’s called “social media” or not.
If people are talking and sharing on Strava, then that’s a place to put an ad for running shoes. That’s how they see it.
The definition is constantly changing because the internet is constantly changing. The core idea though, is about connection and sharing.
What counts as social media is any digital space where people can connect with each other, create things, and form communities.
That definition is a lot bigger than it used to be. And it’s probably going to get even bigger.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Is YouTube considered to be social media?
Absolutely. You have user profiles (channels), you can subscribe, you have comment sections for interaction, and it’s entirely built on user-generated content. The recommendation algorithm is also super powerful. It’s one of the biggest social media platforms there is.
2. What about messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal?
It’s a mix. A direct message to a friend isn’t really social media. But features like WhatsApp Channels or large community groups definitely act like social media. It’s about public or semi-public broadcasting and community building.
3. Is Reddit a social media platform?
Yes, 100%. It’s a perfect example of modern social media. It’s not based on your real-life friends but on thousands of interest-based communities (subreddits). It’s all about user-created content and community interaction.
4. Does a site need a news feed to be social media?
Not anymore. That’s the old way of thinking. A platform like Discord doesn’t have a central “news feed” in the Facebook sense. Instead, it has many different feeds inside different servers. The community space is the main thing.
5. Are dating apps like Tinder or Hinge social media?
Sort of, they are on the edge. They have profiles and direct messaging, which are social features. But their main purpose is to make one-on-one connections, not to build broad communities or broadcast content. They are more like a social tool than a social media platform.
Key Takeaways
The old definition of social media (like Facebook in 2010) is too narrow for today.
The new way to think about it is based on ingredients: community, user-made content, and algorithms.
Many apps you don’t think of as “social media” probably are, like Strava, Reddit, or even parts of Amazon.
It’s not just about connecting with people you already know; it’s about finding communities with shared interests.
Understanding what counts as social media can help you be more mindful of your own screen time and online habits.