Some time ago, in the article vivir en las redes, we talked a little about how social networks have become environments, more specifically in digital environments, where every day, we interact with each other. We do not use networks, but rather, we live in them.

If we live in the media, then we can understand Facebook, Instagram, X and WhatsApp through analogies with places of  “real life”. Each social network forms a particular space, a unique ecosystem, which will obviously require us to adopt different behaviors and modes depending on whether we are in one or the other (or do you speak the same on WhatsApp as on Instagram?).

The avenue.

What social network do you think we are talking about? What's the first one that came to mind? That's right, Facebook.

On Facebook the public is mixed with the private. We have very varied people as friends: from a family member we don't even know😂 to our boyfriend/girlfriend. We have coworkers, former schoolmates, etc. We cannot deny the obvious massive nature of Facebook: who doesn't have Facebook? Whether you use it more, or use it less, you cannot deny that anyone can be found on this social network.

It is because of this quality of massiveness that we compare Facebook with an avenue, where a huge and heterogeneous public coexists, made up of people of different ages, genders, generations, thoughts, ideals, among others.

The offer of activities that Facebook offers us is so varied, that also at that point it can be compared to an avenue: you can find out the latest news (and why not some gossip), you can buy and sell objects, you can meet and chat with friends. A world of options opens up with this social network.

The parade.

Instagram, without a doubt, is the parade. The social network of exhibitionism par excellence. We show everything we do in real time. However, far from being spontaneous exhibitionism, on Instagram the most important thing is “how things look.” As it is a social network where images and videos predominate, the visual story is very important. The clear example is the trend that emerged a couple of months, perhaps a year ago, known as “aesthetic”. More widespread among young people, this term encompasses the entire “ideal” of Instagram: I upload an “aesthetic” photo of my model that turned out beautiful; I upload an “aesthetic” video of my vacation. Nobody uploads things that seem ugly to them. The content is aimed at showing “the best” of each person.

As we see, the presentation of the “I” on Instagram has a highly aestheticized and carefully constructed style.

The kiosk.

We can compare X, the former Twitter, to a kiosk, but not just any kiosk, but those drugstores (readers from Argentina will understand) that are open 24 hours and sell everything. Because? Because you literally find everything: from real-time news to the most absurd memes you can imagine.

A characteristic point of X is its way of interacting with the content. We do not want to say that the same thing does not happen on Instagram and Facebook, but the former Twitter is the social network for opinion par excellence. Everyone gives their opinion all the time, whatever the topic. This, although it can often have negative effects, also encourages the formation of communities where people who may not be friends or know each other in real life, interact and share interests.

Constant updating renews the news flow to such an extent that users tend to associate X with an “always on/always now” dimension. Because of this nature of immediacy, we compare it with a 24-hour kiosk, which remains open and available at all hours.

And just as it happens in a kiosk, for many users, in addition to being the place of information, the former Twitter is the space for humor and unplanned posting. In that sense, it operates at times as a platform for presenting the self in a playful tone: X allows us to spontaneously publish “something funny” that has come to mind.

The coffee.

Yes, exactly. WhatsApp is coffee. We know that this social network is literally the central node of daily communications, and that is why it acts for different areas of our lives: we talk for work, also for fun.

This messaging service houses an intersection of public, intimate and private worlds that have given it the character of a social network that is almost indispensable in our lives.

The presentation of the self on WhatsApp has to do, more privately than publicly, with the content that is shared and the groups of which one is a part. The structure of the platform seems to create a more interpersonal environment of communication.

We exchange engagement greetings on Facebook like when we meet acquaintances on a busy avenue. We pose on Instagram to see and be seen like in a parade. We comment on the news and look at X like at the corner kiosk, where we consume information like candy, sometimes in a playful way. We spend more time in the cafe that is WhatsApp than having a beer with other people.

And you, what social network could you consider “your habitat”?