The Future Gaze: Moving Towards Web 3.0

There is absolutely no doubt that social media is an integral component in our lives today. The rapid development and expansion of social media in these last few years has me wondering where it will go in the next few years and beyond, into the realms of web 3.0.

Firstly, it is apparent that the days of predominantly accessing and utilising the web from a computer are vanishing. Mobile technology and tablets are the way of the future. 

Considering mobile technology in the social media context, Quek (2012) discusses the need for social media providers to ensure their sites function well in the mobile domain to ensure their brand remains current. When I review my own social media usage I’d estimate that 95% of it is done via my smart phone. Confirming the view of Quek, my frustrations with the mobile apps provided by some social media sites have seen my use of those sites dwindle, whereby the ease with which sites like Twitter function on my phone has seen my tweeting increase a lot.  So the message going forward is fairly clear, make apps that function well and allow us to use your site effectively on our mobile devices, or risk dropping off the social media map.

Other advances I can see, is a complete metamorphosis in our social interactions, as virtual lives become what we deem as real. We are no longer restricted in our associations by location, as people create friendships with individuals from across the world via social media tools. The use of hashtags, hangouts and circles provides us the ability to socialise with people of common interests from anywhere on the planet. The specificity of our online interactions makes this a highly enticing proposition. If I want to hangout with a group of people to talk solely about my favourite music genres, movies or video games, I can do so with such ease and such specificity that it becomes a form of social interaction preferential to real world interactions. Ayelet Noff (2011) touches on this point in his excellent article about the future of social media. With this in mind, I believe that in the not too distant future our online avatar identities will be responsible for the bulk of our social interactions and could potentially become more real to us than our physical selves as we focus more and more on how to present ourselves and create an identity virtually. 

A concern with the way in which social media and web 3.0 technologies are evolving the way we live is whether the way we interact online is at the detriment of real world relationships. Are we creating a generation who can tweet, like, share and comment but who have no real ability to build meaningful intimate relationships as real world interactions play second fiddle to online interactions? I have genuine fears that whilst we are more connected than ever, in a sense we’re growing further and further apart. Manago, Taylor and Greefield (2012) share this concern, discussing how people strive for popularity online at the expense of skills for creating real intimate relationships. As we progress into the web 3.0 world and our avatars become central to our social activities, this is a concern that must be given serious consideration.

REFERENCES

Manago, A, Taylor, T, & Greenfield, P 2012, 'Me and my 400 friends: The anatomy of college students' Facebook networks, their communication patterns, and well-being', Developmental Psychology, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 369-380, PsycARTICLES, EBSCOhost, viewed 9 February 2013.

Noff, A 2011, ‘What's next in social media’, Social Media, viewed 9 February 2012, <http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/06/14/whats-next-in-social-media>.

Quek, C 2012, 'The future of social media: mobile, niche, meaning?’, Social Media Today, viewed 10 February 2012, <http://socialmediatoday.com/ladyxtel/507170/future-social-media-relevance-mobile-niche-meaning>.