
Social-Media Messages Are Becoming More Complex, and Nobody Knows Why - katiey
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608345/social-media-messages-are-becoming-more-complex-and-nobody-knows-why/
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rwnspace
Some suggestions, assuming this effect is true for other regions:

\- because the social functions SMM has enabled/filled/replaced are more rich
and varied, so longer and more differentiated conversations are more
commonplace for a majority of users. Say, 'Pub social commentary' takes place
online instead/in addition.

\- because there's a decrease in complexity of messages in web forums: as
platforms like Reddit become more populated, average user interaction goes
down (and more so for certain personality types), but those persons have
maintained a similar amount of communication overall.

\- because the Internet has increased average verbal competency by increasing
the raw number of written words processed. The younger you are when you start
using it regularly, the more this effect is pronounced, such that only a
couple of years makes a large difference.

\- because of a difference in the base-level of verbal fluency granted by
education between the early 90s and early 2000s. Growth of the middle-class
comes to mind.

\- because 'feminism' and 'politics': ideas that have terminology with more
average letters are more popular topics. But that's a slightly silly one.

