Social media has grown from a set of small networking sites into a global phenomenon, one that has reshaped culture, politics and business over the last two decades. What started with early innovators such as Friendster and MySpace has turned into algorithm-driven platforms like TikTok, creating a hugely different landscape of online interaction.
The Early Days: Friendster And MySpace
The story of modern social media often begins with Friendster, one of the first platforms to popularise the idea of connecting with friends online. Founded in 2002, Friendster allowed users to create profiles, share photos and messages, and form a circle of friends, laying the foundation for future networks.
Though it garnered early success, measured in millions of users, Friendster struggled to scale and ultimately fell behind newer competitors.
Not too long after Friendster was born, MySpace launched in August 2003. MySpace was quite different in its highly customisable user experience. Users could decorate their profiles with music, backgrounds and HTML widgets.
At one point, from 2005 to 2008, it was the most-visited website in the whole world. MySpace was especially popular among younger people and musicians.
But MySpace also faced missteps. For example, it was later determined by the US Federal Trade Commission that it had shared users’ personal details with advertisers, and a privacy settlement was reached.
Facebook And The Rise Of Real-Name Networks
By 2004, Facebook entered the scene. Initially launched at Harvard University by Mark Zuckerberg, it rapidly expanded beyond campus, moving into schools, workplaces and eventually the entire world.
As it gained more users, it slowly started to overtake MySpace by offering a cleaner interface and a real‑names approach, which made it much more appealing to be used for long-term networking and professional use.
Video And Microblogging: YouTube And Twitter
In 2005, YouTube went live and completely flipped the world of video sharing on its head. Though YouTube predates many social platforms in media format, by the late 2000s it had become a central hub of user-generated video to complement the textual and image‑based social networking that had become so popular.
Continuing the diversification, Twitter, now X, was born in 2006. It pioneered microblogging, meaning short messages or “tweets” in real time, which proved powerful for instant updates, public discourse and mobilising social movements.
Visual-First Platforms: Instagram And Snapchat
Instagram launched in October 2010. The original name was Burbn. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger envisioned it as a check‑in service, but it eventually focused exclusively on photo sharing. Instagram’s filters resonated with mobile users, and its minimal design did the rest.
It reached a million users within months, and in 2012, it was bought by Facebook for around US$1 billion.
By 2011, Snapchat joined in, with a different social dynamic: ephemeral messaging. Users could send photos or short videos that would disappear after being viewed, introducing a sense of impermanence and spontaneity to social sharing.
Short-Form Video Revolution: Vine And Musical.ly
A few years later, the concept of short-form video took a leap forward with Vine, launched around 2013. Though not long-lived (it shut down in 2017), Vine’s six-second looping videos laid the conceptual groundwork for later platforms that prioritised brevity and creativity.
Enter TikTok, the app that redefined social media in the late 2010s. TikTok began with a Chinese app called Douyin, launched by ByteDance in 2016.
In 2017, ByteDance acquired another video app called Musical.ly, which was founded by Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang. Musical.ly was noted for its lip-syncing short videos and eventually merged into TikTok in August 2018.
That consolidation fuelled its explosive global growth, and by 2018‑19 TikTok became a cultural force, spawning viral dance challenges, comedy bits and a new breed of creator economy.
TikTok’s rise has not been without controversy. The app’s data practices and ties to China’s parent company ByteDance have come under scrutiny from authorities across the world.
Yet, its algorithmic feed, ease of use, and enormous creative potential have made TikTok loved by millions, particularly those in younger demographics.
Changing User Behaviour And Monetisation
As social media has evolved, a number of themes have crystalised. First, customisation and self-expression were central in early platforms like MySpace. Second, connectivity and real-name networks defined Facebook. Third, brevity and immediacy surfaced as an imperative in Twitter and Vine. Finally, algorithmic discovery and viral video dominate on TikTok.
The evolution reflects changing technology, but also a change in user behavior. In the MySpace era, users curated slow‑burn, static profiles. Today, users often create in the moment, recording and sharing short bursts of life, music and humour.
The business model has also changed significantly. There was always advertising, but now the platforms make money through influencers, branded challenges, e-commerce integrations and data-driven recommendation engines. TikTok above all has creators at the centre of its monetisation. Those capable of making an idea go viral often gain a commercial advantage.
Societal Impact And Future Trends
In less than a decade, social media has evolved from a digital novelty to a mainstream societal force, with widespread influence over elections, social movements and even cultural trends. Simultaneously, there have been increased concerns regarding privacy, mental health and even platform regulation in the TikTok era.
Going forward, the next phase of social media could lean into augmented reality, live interactive formats or decentralised networks. But the core evolution, from static friend networks to dynamic, global, video-first communities, seems firmly rooted.
The journey from MySpace to TikTok was more than just a shift in apps. It was about how we present ourselves, connect with people and the way content is created and consumed. It is true that social media has come a long way, but its future still feels like it is open-ended, waiting for the next wave of innovation.