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- ChatGPT introduces new tone of voice settings, BeReal hanging on for dear life and Threads rolls out in the EU
ChatGPT introduces new tone of voice settings, BeReal hanging on for dear life and Threads rolls out in the EU
All this and more in the latest Social Media Six Newsletter
Hannah Carpenter & Riley Harden
December 15, 2023
Happy Friday everyone!
We’ve got a wide range of social news lined up for you this week. And luckily we don’t have to talk about Elon/X! Or maybe we just choose not to two weeks in a row.
Social media apps come and go all the time. It seems like this year, we’ve seen even more than normal. All these apps do their best to adopt features that are popular on other platforms and tweak them just enough to call them “theirs.”
A majority of the new apps likely end up dying off within the first few years though (RIP Clubhouse). But some seem to catch traction and stick around longer. BeReal is hanging on for life, while Threads seems to be one of those lucky few that will likely be here for good.
So let’s go ahead and dive in to the latest updates from this week.
Table of Contents
Let’s BeReal, Are People Really Using This App?
Wait, this is still a thing? I don’t know anyone who uses the social app BeReal. But apparently, about 25 million people do every day.
Regardless, apparently they’ve just released four new features to the app, including Behind The Scenes, RealGroups, Tagging, and Your 2023 Recap. Will this help BeReal’s growth and make it a big player in the social media world? Doubt it.
ChatGPT: “Write Like Oprah Winfrey”
You get AI. And you get AI! EVERYONE GETS AI!
If you’re looking to improve your ChatGPT experience, you can now train it to write in a unique tone of voice, such as your favorite actors, tv show hosts, heroes, cartoon characters, etc. by using the prompt “write like insert character” at the start of your ChatGPT instructions.
Wait, Which App is Most Popular Among Teens?
Pew Research Center recently conducted a survey of over 1,400 teenagers to gauge their social media interest, internet use, and device ownership.
Somewhat shockingly (at least to me), YouTube absolutely dominates as the most widely used platform for teens, with more than 9 out of 10 teens using it. Tiktok, Snapchat, and Instagram still remain popular with teens, but with only roughly 6 out of 10 teens using those apps.
Not surprising at all, teens are much less likely to use Facebook and Twitter (X, whatever) than they were a decade ago.
One State is Passing Laws to Limit Children’s Use of Social Media
Utah recently sued TikTok, claiming the app “illegally baits children into addictive and unhealthy use”, among other things.
This latest lawsuit comes after Utah already passed laws aimed at limiting children’s use of social media apps, which will take effect in 2024. The laws say that parental consent will have to be given for children to sign up to social media apps with certain age requirements, as well as giving parents access to their children’s accounts and messages.
Is this something we’re going to start seeing in other states too?
Threads Has Weaved Its Way into Europe
Threads has been looking to expand into Europe for a while now, but was caught up in red tape by new E.U. regulations. It seems like that is all cleared up now, and the app that has already seen over 100 million monthly users is expected to increase its user base by about 25%.
There have been numerous Twitter-like knock-offs this year, but none have really seemed to catch on as well as Threads has. Like it or not, Threads is likely here to stay.
We’ll see you next week with another round of six stories you need to know to stay informed on all things social!
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