Same Same But Different: Changes in Social Media Practices Over Time

In this paper, we examine how social media users reflect upon their own developments as social media users over time. We draw upon two interview studies with the same informants, conducted in 2012 and 2017. In the second study, we showed them snippets from their previous interviews, and asked them to comment on their five year old statements. This allowed us as researchers to get access to the participants own analysis of their changing social media practices. Based on this data and in relation to previous research, we outline the most prominent influencing factors that have had an impact on social media use over time: changes in life and time management, changes in technical capabilities, changes in privacy preferences and changes in modes of engagement. However, despite these changes, our informants describe having a similar approach to social media use in general.