Around the world, billions of united states of america use social media every day, and that number but keeps growing. In fact, it'southward estimated that by 2022, ii.44 billion people will exist using social networks, up from 970,000 in 2022.

We use it for every part of our lives – in our personal relationships, for entertainment, at piece of work and in our studies. To put it into some context, every infinitesimal we collectively send more than 30 million messages on Facebook and almost 350,000 tweets.

Image: Data from Socialnomics and Mass Planner

Our growing love of social media is not merely irresolute the manner we communicate – it's irresolute the way we do business, the way we are governed, and the way we alive in guild. And it's doing and so at breakneck speed. Hither are six observations and predictions for the style social media is irresolute the world from experts from the Global Agenda Council.

one. Across industries, social media is going from a "nice to have" to an essential component of any business strategy

It started in the newsroom, equally Claire Wardle of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism explains: "In simply seven years, newsrooms have been completely disrupted by social media. Social media skills are no longer considered niche, and solely the responsibility of a small team in the newsroom. Instead social media affects the fashion the whole organization runs."

Information technology's a tendency that is already spreading to businesses beyond the newsroom, whether it be considering of digital marketing or new customer service communication channels. Other industries should look to the lessons learned – or non – past the newsroom and ensure that they're one step ahead of this social media-enabled disruption.

2. Social media platforms may be the banks of the future

Imagine being able to pay your rent or make an investment through your favourite social network. That might not be too far off, says Richard Eldridge of Lenddo. "Social media is transforming banking relationships in very meaning ways, from improving customer service to allowing users to send money to others via online platforms. New financial technology companies are using social media to assistance people simply open a bank account. Social media can even affect your ability to get a loan."

But it won't be without its problems: "The biggest claiming is maintaining security standards and ensuring customers knowingly provide personal data. Banks will too have to implement sophisticated social media policies."

Read Richard'south full web log.

3. Social media is shaking upwards healthcare and public health

The health industry is already using social media to modify how it works, whether through public health campaigns or virtual doctor's visits on Skype. It'southward also helped groups of people, such as patients suffering from the aforementioned condition, stay in affect, say Shannon Dosemagen of Public Laboratory for Open up Technology and Science and Lee Aase of Mayo Dispensary Heart for Social Media and its Social Media Health Network: "Social media has been responsible for relevant changes in both personal and community health, specially past making information technology easier for large numbers of people to speedily share data."

That's non always a expert thing: while social media does help official agencies and experts share important information fast – such as during a disease outbreak – it has a downside. "Social media is a ii-way street, and allows non-experts to share information just as apace as health agencies, if not more than and then." Information technology's this future that the health manufacture will need to plan for: "Health agencies demand to take plans in identify ahead of time to be able to respond to and counter misinformation or back up accurate data shared via social media."

Read Shannon and Lee's total weblog.

4. Social media is changing how nosotros govern and are governed

Civic participation and engagement has been transformed with social media: "Social media allows citizens to be the source of ideas, plans and initiatives in an easier way than e'er before" says Eileen Guo of Impassion Media. In the hereafter, we can expect more and more leaders to comprehend this type of transparent governance, as information technology becomes easier for them to interact with their constituents: "Whereas politicians and government officials once had to travel to interact with citizens, now online town halls strengthen the connections betwixt them, while providing a platform for straight input on government initiatives."

Before the dawn of social media, governments, along with the traditional media, were the gatekeepers of information. This human relationship has been turned on its caput, says Taylor Owen of the Academy of British Columbia: "This largely symbiotic relationship has been radically disrupted by the concurrent rise of digital technology and the social media ecosystem that information technology enabled. Nowhere is this claiming more than astute than in the world of international affairs and disharmonize, where the ascent of digitally native international actors has challenged the state's dominance."

Wikileaks and the rise of the social-media savvy terrorist organisation ISIS are just two examples of this shift in ability, which will call for a complete rethink of the concept of governance.

five. Social media is helping u.s.a. better respond to disasters

From Facebook's Safety Check – which allows users in disaster zones to mark themselves as safe – to the rising of the CrisisMappers Network, nosotros've seen many examples of how social media and digital communications more broadly are helping respond to disasters.

That looks ready to continue, says Heather Leson of the Qatar Computing Enquiry Institute. In fact, more and more of us will be using social media to contribute to disaster relief from wherever nosotros are: "Digital responders can immediately log on when news breaks about a natural disaster or homo-created catastrophe. Individuals and teams are activated based on skill sets of volunteer and technical communities. These digital responders use their time and technical skills, as well as their personal networks in an endeavor to help mitigate information overload for formal humanitarian aid in the field." These digital humanitarians will assistance close the gap in worldwide disaster response.

Read Heather's full blog.

six. Social media is helping united states of america tackle some of the world's biggest challenges, from human rights violations to climatic change

The Arab Spring is perhaps 1 of the best-known examples of how social media tin can change the world. But information technology's about more than than just bringing together activists: it'south also about holding human rights violators to account. "Content shared on social media has increasing potential to exist used as evidence of wartime atrocities and human rights violations, explicate Esra'a Al Shafei of Mideast Youth and Melissa Tyas of Crowdvoice. "Following verification and forensic reconstruction by prosecutors and man rights advocates, these videos are potential evidence that may one solar day exist brought before an international courtroom."

Read Esra'a and Melissa'due south total blog.

This capacity for social media to join disparate but like-minded people is also helping fight another enormous challenge: climate alter. "Social media has become an of import tool for providing a space and ways for the public to participate in influencing or disallowing environmental decisions historically fabricated past governments and corporations that bear upon u.s.a. all. Information technology has created a way for people to connect local environmental challenges and solutions to larger-scale narratives that will touch usa as a global customs," says Shannon Dosemagen.

Read Shannon'south full blog.

Have you lot stopped to call back how social media is impacting you, your concern or your community?

This blog serial was edited by Shannon G. Dosemagen, Farida Vis and Claire Wardle, from the Global Agenda Quango on Social Media. Read more nearly the means social media is changing the earth in The Impact of Digital Content: Opportunities and Risks of Creating and Sharing Information Online white paper with principal contributors Shannon M. Dosemagen, Farida Vis, Claire Wardle and Susan Etlinger and other members from the Global Agenda Council on Social Media.