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Social Networking Sites

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

  • 244 Accesses

Synonyms

Digital media; Social media; Virtual communities

Definition

Social networking sites, sometimes characterized under the umbrella term social media, are virtual communities or networks that allow individuals, communities, and organizations to create and disseminate user-generated content including but not limited to pictures, videos, text, memes, and profile pages for individuals or groups; social media content has greater virality than other web-based content. By connecting a user’s profile (maintained by the social media organization) to other individuals or groups, social networks are formed. Well-known social media sites include Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. When social networking sites were first popularized, the average users were emerging adults, but now users represent a wide range of ages, races, and places of residence.

Description

Social media encompasses all online platforms on which media content is uploaded, and social networking sites are...

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References and Further Readings

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, 02903, USA

    Carly M. Goldstein & Anna Luke

  2. Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 196 Richmond Street, Providence, RI, 02903, USA

    Carly M. Goldstein & Anna Luke

  3. Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Anna Luke

Authors
  1. Carly M. Goldstein
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  2. Anna Luke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carly M. Goldstein .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

    Marc Gellman

  2. Campbell University School of Pharmacy, Buies Creek, North Carolina, USA

    J. Rick Turner

Additional information

Associate Editor responsible for this entry: Dr. Ellen Beckjord

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media LLC

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Goldstein, C.M., Luke, A. (2016). Social Networking Sites. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101953-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101953-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

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