What is a social networks?

Social networks are digital platforms formed by communities of individuals with common
interests, activities or relationships (such as friendship, kinship, work). Social networks
allow contact between people and function as a means of communicating and exchanging
information.

Origin and evolution of social networks

• Classmates is considered the first social network. It was created in 1995 by the
American Randy Conrads. This social network sought to virtually connect former
school and university classmates. As the project was successful, new networks
began to appear whose purpose was to reunite friends and acquaintances began
to appear.
• The new communication spaces offered by social networks have made it possible
for users to establish immediate relationships, have made it possible for users to
establish immediate relationships, but every day the ways of communicating and
seeing the world change, so social networks have also been forced to evolve.

Types of social networks

Horizontal social networks:
These are social networks that do not have a specific theme but are aimed at all types of
users. These networks function as means of communication, information or
entertainment. They are very numerous and popular, for example: Facebook Twitter.
Vertical social networks:
These are social networks that relate people with specific interests in common, such as
music, hobbies, sports. For example: Flickr, a social network whose theme is photography.
Within these networks are the professional vertical networks, such as LinkedIn, which
involves individuals who share a work environment or who seek to expand their work
frontiers.

Characteristics of social networks

Are user-based
Are interactive
Establish relationships

Also offer exchange of information and interests in a variety of services

Advantages of social networks

• They are immediate.
• They are massive.
• They shorten distances.
• They function as a channel for learning, entertainment and information.
• They allow information to be shared.
• Provide job opportunities.
Disadvantages of social networks
• They lose interaction with their social environment and family.
• They can become victims of cyberbullyng and identity theft.
• They expose themselves to people they often do not know, publishing personal
information.
• They become victims of viruses and corrupted software.

Most popular social networks

These are the main social networks that exist in the world. a network of virtual links,
whose main objective is to support the production and sharing of content.

Whatsapp
Instagram
Youtube
Facebook

Conclusion
I think that social networks are a great advance for technology and that thanks to it we
can do countless things as I have already explained. Reading information from the internet
I have been able to understand that social networks are not always good, that sometimes
they can be quite a big risk.