# How many social media(s) do you use?



## meijin

Hi, I think the word "media" in "social media" is neither a countable or plural noun, so a question "How many social media(s) do you use?" would be wrong.

So, what countable noun would you add if you wanted to know how many of them (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Line) your friend use? There are many nouns that can follow "social media", such as _platform_, _site_, _service_, _app_, _account_, _channel_, and _network_, but I don't know which one is the most natural or appropriate to use in this context. Maybe _service_?

If we were to ask the same question in Japanese, it would be just "How many social media do you use?", since the countable/uncountable difference doesn't exist in Japanese. So we wouldn't have to wonder "Are they all websites?", "Are they all apps?", etc.


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## PaulQ

Personally, I would use "app" as this is the only way to use them - additionally, the person answering can also look at their phone to check if he is unsure. The problem would seen to be such apps as Facebook that also include a messaging service.


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## sound shift

"What social media do you use?"

Obviously, the answer won't be a number. It will be a list; you'll have to count the names if you want to know how many.


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## meijin

PaulQ said:


> Personally, I would use "app" as this is the only way to use them


What about if the person only visits his Facebook page in a web browser on his PC? Is that also an app??



sound shift said:


> "What social media do you use?"
> 
> Obviously, the answer won't be a number. It will be a list; you'll have to count the names if you want to know how many.


Maybe the person uses more than ten apps. It would be a bit tiring to mention/count them...


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## heypresto

meijin said:


> Maybe the person uses more than ten apps. It would be a bit tiring to mention/count them...


But you would be expecting your friend to mention them or count them.


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## meijin

heypresto said:


> But you would be expecting your friend to mention them or count them.


Well, he could just answer "More than ten" (if it's true and if he couldn't be bothered to count them), and I'd be happy with his answer.


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## Proudy

If your goal is a numerical result, then I would suggest "How many social media accounts do you have?" or "How many of social media accounts do you use?" The answer would include those who have more than one account at the same service.


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## USMeg

Media is a plural--of medium.
The _media_ are the various channels by which information is communicated: newspapers, radio, TV, etc.
Facebook, Twitter, etc., etc. are media. But if I don't know that I'd ever use either of these (traditional or social media) in a countable way. It's just awkward.


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> What about if the person only visits his Facebook page in a web browser on his PC? Is that also an app??


It is short for "application program" app - WordReference.com Dictionary of English  App is not restricted to "small" or "mobile" devices 
Media is a word that was originally a plural of a foreign word but since it does not end in an -s, many English speakers thought/think it is singular (data, criteria, bacteria, phenomena, media, algae etc).  So we do not have "One social medium" (or even "one social media  ) in a countable fashion, but everyone knows what is meant by the (mass) term "social media"
"Which social media (apps) do you use?"
Are messaging or telephone apps included in your concept of "social media"? It's a fluid term  Webpages will also load and run "apps" Here is a list of 34 definitions someone collected.


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## meijin

Proudy said:


> If your goal is a numerical result, then I would suggest "How many social media accounts do you have?" or "How many of social media accounts do you use?" The answer would include those who have more than one account at the same service.


I see that you used "service" at the end of the second sentence. So, if it's not about the number of accounts, would you say "How many social media _services_ do you use?"



USMeg said:


> Facebook, Twitter, etc., etc. are media. But if I don't know that I'd ever use either of these (traditional or social media) in a countable way. It's just awkward.


I had read The most popular <medium/media> is radio before creating this thread. If I understand correctly, some people use the singular "medium" for radio, but is there anyone (other than social media experts and lawyers, perhaps) who uses the singular "medium" for  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.? I don't think so.



JulianStuart said:


> It is short for "application program" app - WordReference.com Dictionary of English App is not restricted to "small" or "mobile" devices


Well, I had read a few articles explaining that "applications" (which is short for application programs or application software) and "apps" are no longer the same thing (but let's not discuss it here). I just thought that the Facebook page on the browser was a site, not an app or application (since you can't uninstall it). But maybe I'm wrong.



JulianStuart said:


> "Which social media (apps) do you use?"


I knew "Which social media do you use?" works, but I didn't know that it's because it just omitted "apps" from the sentence. If that's true, why doesn't "How many social media (apps, services, etc.) do you use?" work?



JulianStuart said:


> Are messaging or telephone apps included in your concept of "social media"? It's a fluid term  Webpages will also load and run "apps" Here is a list of 34 definitions someone collected.


I've read several articles explaining what "social media" means, and it just gave me headaches. 
So let's not make things complicated. I just wanted to know what noun you would use when counting these things that people normally describe as social media. If it's a telephone app that allows you to just make and receive calls, then I don't think it's social media, but for example LINE, which allows you to send/receive messages and make/receive phone calls, is considered social media in my country (although we call these things--including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.--"SNS", short for social networking sites/services, as you know).


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## arundhati

Hello,
All that depends also how close you feel to Latin 
Media is the plural of medium because it's a Latin word (it would make no sense otherwise), and the way you use it directly depends on how you  "treat" it.
If you consider that it's still a latin word, used among english words, I guess it's fine to use "medium" for the singular form. But the register would be rather high.
Other languages tend to keep "foreign" words in their original forms, English often absorbs them to use them as English words.
It can go pretty far, see "status quo" coming from the Latin "statu quo" for example.


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> Well, I had read a few articles explaining that "applications" (which is short for application programs or application software) and "apps" are no longer the same thing (but let's not discuss it here). I just thought that the Facebook page on the browser was a site, not an app or application (since you can't uninstall it). But maybe I'm wrong.
> 
> 
> I knew "Which social media do you use?" works, but I didn't know that it's because it just omitted "apps" from the sentence. If that's true, why doesn't "How many social media (apps, services, etc.) do you use?" work?
> 
> 
> I've read several articles explaining what "social media" means, and it just gave me headaches.
> So let's not make things complicated. I just wanted to know what noun you would use when counting these things that people normally describe as social media. If it's a telephone app that allows you to just make and receive calls, then I don't think it's social media, but for example LINE, which allows you to send/receive messages and make/receive phone calls, is considered social media in my country (although we call these things--including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.--"SNS", short for social networking sites/services, as you know).


Yup - it is definitely not clear cut. That's why I linked to the list of 34 definitions.  A messaging app will allow groups of people to send messages to each other, and a conference call on a telephone "app" also involves a social" (more than one person) connection.  Many webpages run apps (some are called applets!) and when you close the page you "uninstall" the app.  The functionality of Facebook (the only one I sometimes use) on a web browser and the "standalone" app is pretty much the same and there is an increasing number of "apps" that you access from your device but where the computing app operates in "the cloud".  Is Wordreference a "social medium" (I will never be able to write or say "a social media" or "social medias") - it allows people to get together and discuss things, present images and link to content elsewhere?  It's not what most people would think of in the same breath as Facebook Instagram etc but think about it ")


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## tunaafi

JulianStuart said:


> Is Wordreference a "social medium" (I will never be able to write or say "a social media") - it allows people to get together and discuss things, present images and link to content elsewhere?  I


I do hope not. I'd hate to learn that I had become a social media user after holding out for so many years.


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## JulianStuart

arundhati said:


> It can go pretty far, see "status quo" coming from the Latin "statu quo" for example.


 (Statu quo uses the ablative and is only correct after a preposition, such as _in statu quo ante bellum_. When used in the nominative case as a subject "_status quo_" status is correct)


tunaafi said:


> I do hope not. I'd hate to learn that I had become a social media user after holding out for so many years.


 Terms are a little blurry these days, huh?   One concept in my understanding of how the term "social media" is used involves the word "trivial".  (E.g., a post such as: Here is a picture of what I had for breakfast )


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## PaulQ

meijin said:


> Is that also an app??


I note that as of Windows 10, Microsoft has taken to calling all "programs" (in the widest sense - including links to websites) "apps" (i.e. applications).


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## USMeg

Hate to break it to tunaafi and others, but I'm pretty sure that this is a social network.
TTYL...


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## meijin

Thank you all very much for the replies.

So, coming back to the original question, does "How many social media do you use?" actually work? If so, does the listener think that I regard and treat each of them as a "medium"?

The definition of "social media" is unclear to many people, but the reason I used the term in the OP instead of "social networks" is that I think you, general consumers, normally call these things (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram but NOT Youtube, discussion forums, review sites, etc.) "social media" rather than "social networks". So I just wanted to know if "How many social media do you use?" would work. Would you say it's better to use the term "social networks" in this context (when asking friends how many of them they use)?


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> Thank you all very much for the replies.
> 
> So, coming back to the original question, does "How many social media do you use?" actually work? If so, does the listener think that I regard and treat each of them as a "medium"?
> 
> The definition of "social media" is unclear to many people, but the reason I used the term in the OP instead of "social networks" is that I think you, general consumers, normally call these things (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram but NOT Youtube, discussion forums, review sites, etc.) "social media" rather than "social networks". So I just wanted to know if "How many social media do you use?" would work. Would you say it's better to use the term "social networks" in this context (when asking friends how many of them they use)?


Most will not even know of the word "medium" in this context   Given the imprecision of the concept (and therefore the question) I think you will not get the same understanding from everyone.  So your question is probably about as good as any! However, you will likely need to have a follow-up or more specific question, or be prepared to answer "What do you mean by that?"  65+ Social Networking Sites You Need to Know About in 2019 - Make A Website Hub


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## meijin

Hmm...so let me make thing easier and use the following example I've just come up with.   
Please consider it a survey question.

Q. Which of the following six social media have you heard of?

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. LinkedIn
4. Instagram
5. Pinterest
6. YouTube

If "six social media" is really odd, would you say it should be "six social media _services_"?

I don't think you can say "six social networks" because even experts don't consider #4-6 social networks.
If the list didn't include #4-6, the question would be able to say either "social media services" or "social networks" ("or social networking services"), I think.


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## JulianStuart

Items 4-6 are on the list in the link to 65+ sites.
"Q. Which of (correcting obvious typos  ) the following six have you heard of?"  neatly sidesteps the naming/categorization question.I suspect YOU will have to make the definitions clear to the people you are asking if you want useful results


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> Items 4-6 are on the list in the link to 65+ sites.


So would you say most people consider "social media" and "social networks (or social networking sites/services)" the same and use them interchangeably, unlike experts who treat them differently?
5 Types of Social Media and Examples of Each



JulianStuart said:


> "Q. Which if the following six have heard of?" neatly sidesteps the naming/categorization question.


(You mean "Which of the following six have you heard of?", right?)

So, "Which of the following six social media have you..." is really odd and you would rephrase the question that way. Good to know.


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> So would you say most people consider "social media" and "social networks (or social networking sites/services)" the same and use them interchangeably, unlike experts who treat them differently?
> 5 Types of Social Media and Examples of Each


You have cited one article about social media sites, and I cited another, so I don't think you can say "experts" yet !  The issue is NOT YET CLEAR (i.e. meaning the same to everyone), so trying to pin it down precisely with one term or phrase is futile. That's why this thread exists and we can't say "what most people would consider".



meijin said:


> So, "Which of the following six social media have you..." is really odd and you would rephrase the question that way. Good to know.


 I did *not* say it was "really" odd , I just suggested avoiding the nomenclature issue.

You could provide a list of 65+ and ask "How many of these have you heard of or used?"


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> You have cited one article about social media sites,


I had read these as well before creating this thread, and they (experts) all say social networks is one type of social media.
10 Types of Social Media and How Each Can Benefit Your Business
The 7 different types of social media
The 6 Types of Social Media
What are the Different Types of Social Media?



JulianStuart said:


> I did *not* say it was "really" odd ,


OK, it's not really odd, but it's somewhat odd, or unidiomatic anyway. 


So, my conclusion so far is...

How many social *media* do you use? 
How many social *medias *do you use? 
How many social *mediums *do you use? 
How many social *media apps/services/accounts* do you use? 
How many social *networks *do you use? 

And the answer to the question would be "What exactly do you mean by social media/networks?"


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## JulianStuart

As far as I can tell from a brief click, those "experts" are all from the field of marketing, and they have discussed various aspects with regard to that perspective. If your question is involved in discussions with such companies and creating questionnaires for them, that perspective will serve you.  However, that does not mean that the general population has settled on definitions of what is and what isn't a member of the term "social media".


meijin said:


> I just wanted to know what noun you would use when counting these things that people normally describe as social media.


 I would have no problem asking someone, as sound shift suggested in post #3, "What social media do you use?" and. after counting the number in their list, let them tell me what qualifies for them to be in the category.  That way, I get my answer (and some data on how people define the term for free)!


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> However, that does not mean that the general population has settled on definitions of what is and what isn't a member of the term "social media".


Exactly, and that's why I said "experts". 



JulianStuart said:


> I would have no problem asking someone, as sound shift suggested in post #3, "What social media do you use?"


That might work in that situation, but if, for example, a Japanese questionnaire asked "How many social media do you use?" in Japanese and I had to translate it into English, translating it as "What social media do you use?" would be a mistranslation. In this case, I, the translator, would have to decide which noun (apps, services, etc.) to use in the English translation.


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> Exactly, and that's why I said "experts".


 I don't think they would qualify as "experts" on what normal people call social media. I would call them "Market analysts analysing how they see distinctions between various "social media {divisions}".



meijin said:


> That might work in that situation, but if, for example, a Japanese questionnaire asked "How many social media do you use?" in Japanese and I had to translate it into English, translating it as "What social media do you use?" would be a mistranslation. In this case, I, the translator, would have to decide which noun (apps, services, etc.) to use in the English translation.


Translators are often in a difficult position, I admit. You want a list of what the person considers "social media" - do you want a (n unattainable) translation or a question that solicits the right answer?

How many vegetables do you eat? Please list them
Which vegetables do you eat? Please count them.

Both solicit the same answer, unless you just want a simple number  If you add a noun in the English version, you are altering the question anyway, by restricting it and forcing the respondent to decide whether ABC is an app, a service, a network, a discussion site etc and to decide which ones they think might be meant by the person asking the question.  What word do you use in Japanese after the katakana for the term "social media" and what does it mean, I wonder?


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> how they see


Yes, that's what I wanted to say. My simply calling them "experts" was misleading.



JulianStuart said:


> How many vegetables do you eat? Please list them
> Which vegetables do you eat? Please count them.
> 
> Both solicit the same answer, unless you just want a simple number


If the researchers simply want to know the number of social media xxxs the respondents use (like the number of cigarettes heavy smokers smoke per day), the question should only ask for the number.



JulianStuart said:


> If you add a noun in the English version, you are altering the question anyway, by restricting it and forcing the respondent to decide whether ABC is an app, a service, a network, a discussion site etc and to decide which ones they think might be meant by the person asking the question.


Yes, this is the problem and that's why I created this thread. 



JulianStuart said:


> What word do you use in Japanese after the katakana for the term "social media" and what does it mean, I wonder?


None , and that's why I've been asking which noun should follow "social media" in the OP sentence.

I've been using the term "social media" in this thread just to avoid confusion, but, as I said in my earlier post, we normally call these things "SNS" (the English term "social media" is sometimes used, be we don't really know what it means), and many people don't even know what it stands for. Also, the last "S" can mean either "service" or "site" (or even "software" or "system"), so we never have to wonder if Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. are platforms, apps, sites, services, etc. 

BUT, _I_ think we regard and treat them as _services_. So, if I were to translate that survey question into English, it would be "How many social media services do you use?", or more likely "How many social networking services do you use?"


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> If the researchers simply want to know the number of social media xxxs the respondents use (like the number of cigarettes heavy smokers smoke per day), the question should only ask for the number.


I'm still confused.  You say the question in Japanese translates to "_How many _social media do you use?".  That question should be answered with a number, right?

How many cigarettes do you smoke a day? 20. ~ How many social media do you use ? 2.

Which (brand(s) of) cigarettes do you smoke? Winston and Mevius. ~ Which social media do you use? Facebook and Instagram.


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> How many cigarettes do you smoke a day? 20. ~ How many social media do you use ? 2.
> 
> Which (brand(s) of) cigarettes do you smoke? Winston and Mevius. ~ Which social media do you use? Facebook and Instagram.


I'm confused by your reply too.   

Yes, the question should be answered with a number. So "Which social media do you use?" is not an appropriate question.
"How many social media do you use?" is the right question, but since it sounds unidiomatic without adding the plural form of a countable noun after "media", I said I would add "services".


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> "How many social media do you use?" is the right question, but since it sounds unidiomatic without adding the plural form of a countable noun after "media", I said I would add "services".


 I personally don't think it's unidiomatic because it seems clear enough to me, but I don't use any of the big ones except Facebook and I don't use the _app_ anyway 

The Japanese term already includes the (English) word services (Noun. *SNS* (rōmaji esuenuesu) *s*ocial *n*etworking *s*ervice; social media website.) so that explains why you don't need to add anything in the Japanese form of the question . So a direct translation (which you desire anyway) might achieve the goal. It may trigger a question in the mind of a respondent about "What does this term 'services' include and what might be excluded?" since the term "services" is not idiomatic yet either   However, many of the hits I get for the term are companies helping other companies managing their presence in social media - so a CEO may say "We don't use any social media services, we have our own IT department".


> SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT COMPANY Social media marketing services for all businesses.
> LYFE Marketing is a social media management company. *We offer social media services*, search engine services, and website design services.


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> I personally don't think it's unidiomatic because it seems clear enough to me


Thanks Julian. This is very important. Do you mean some people, including you, consider "How many social media do you use?" correct English and some people consider it wrong? Also, if you answer "Just one", does it mean, in your mind, "Just one _medium_"?



JulianStuart said:


> so that explains why you don't need to add anything in the Japanese form of the question


The questionnaire writer _may_ know what the last "S" in "SNS" means, but I'd say many people don't know it. To prove this, I've just googled with "SNS service" (in Japanese) and got 1,040,000 hits.  So, consider the Japanese term "SNS" the same as the English term "social media".



JulianStuart said:


> It may trigger a question in the mind of a respondent about "What does this term 'services' include and what might be excluded?" since the term "services" is not idiomatic yet either  However, many of the hits I get for the term are companies helping other companies managing their presence in social media - so a CEO may say "We don't use any social media services, we have our own IT department".


This is very important too. It now makes me hesitate to use the word "service", but if I asked "How many social media _apps _do you use?", some people would exclude the ones they just access via their web browser, because they don't think those are apps (like me).


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> Thanks Julian. This is very important. Do you mean some people, including you, consider "How many social media do you use?" correct English and some people consider it wrong? Also, if you answer "Just one", does it mean, in your mind, "Just one _medium_"?
> 
> 
> The questionnaire writer _may_ know what the last "S" in "SNS" means, but I'd say many people don't know it. To prove this, I've just googled with "SNS service" (in Japanese) and got 1,040,000 hits.  So, consider the Japanese term "SNS" the same as the English term "social media".
> 
> 
> This is very important too. It now makes me hesitate to use the word "service", but if I asked "How many social media _apps _do you use?", some people would exclude the ones they just access via their web browser, because they don't think those are apps (like me).


That's why "How many social media do you use?" seems the best approach, it is at the same time understandable but vague.  

There is a name for "LCD display", "PIN number" , and apparently "SNS service", where the last letter of the initialism is (unnecessarily) said/written out as a full word after  but I always forget the technical term


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## london calling

I'd call them social media platforms.


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## JulianStuart

london calling said:


> I'd call them social media platforms.


That sounds good


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> That's why "How many social media do you use?" seems the best approach, it is at the same time understandable but vague.


So why, like Longon Calling who's just replied, do many people bother to add "platforms", "sites", etc. when asking the question? (I've just googled with a combination of "How many social media" and "do you use")



JulianStuart said:


> There is a name for "LCD display", "PIN number" , and apparently "SNS service", where the last letter of the initialism is (unnecessarily) said/written out as a full word after but I always forget the technical term


But when we say "SNS service", we add "service" without realizing that the last S stands for service (or site).



JulianStuart said:


> That sounds good


Wait! That's the first option I wrote in the OP! (see below). Why didn't you recommend that one until now?   



meijin said:


> So, what countable noun would you add if you wanted to know how many of them (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Line) your friend use? There are many nouns that can follow "social media", such as _*platform*_, _site_, _service_, _app_, _account_, _channel_, and _network_, but I don't know which one is the most natural or appropriate to use in this context.


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> But when we say "SNS service", we add "service" without realizing that the last S stands for service (or site).


The same way people don't realize that the N in "PIN number" stands for number, or the D in "LCD display" stands for display. Etc.

Any new technology item will take some time before people settle on one of many possible options for a name for it/them.  AE = cell phone, BE = mobile,  AE =VCR, BE =video etc etc.


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> The same way people don't realize that the N in "PIN number" stands for number, or the D in "LCD display" stands for display. Etc.


"N" in "PIN" can only mean "number" when talking about personal identification numbers and "D" in "LCD" can only mean "display" when talking about liquid crystal displays. But when we say "SNS", the problem is that we (the general public) don't really know if we are talking about services, sites, systems, or software. 

Anyway, it seems that adding the plural form of a countable noun is better when counting social media. And "platforms" seems the best from judging Google search results, except when you want to talk specifically about sites, services, apps, etc.


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> "N" in "PIN" can only mean "number" when talking about personal identification numbers and "D" in "LCD" can only mean "display" when talking about liquid crystal displays. But when we say "SNS", the problem is that we (the general public) don't really know if we are talking about services, sites, systems, or software.


 Indeed - I've seen "SNS service" and "SNS site".  As I said, it's evolving 



meijin said:


> Anyway, it seems that adding the plural form of a countable noun is better when counting social media. And "platforms" seems the best from judging Google search results, except when you want to talk specifically about sites, services, apps, etc.


  On the other hand, I would be surprised if many of the voracious consumers (the 10-20-year-old group  ) have even heard of the term "platform"


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> On the other hand, I would be surprised if many of the voracious consumers (the 10-20-year-old group  ) have even heard of the term "platform"


Oh...maybe the term is a bit too technical? But then I don't know which term to use. Maybe calling them social networks instead of social media is the best option.

_- How many social networks do you use?
- Which of the following six social networks have you heard of?
- I've used more than ten social networks, but they were all rubbish._


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## london calling

Sorry, I hadn't noticed you'd said 'platforms'. In any case I think it fits (if you're not talking to children):



meijin said:


> Please consider it a survey question.
> 
> Q. Which of the following six social media *platforms* have you heard of?
> 
> 1. Facebook
> 2. Twitter
> 3. LinkedIn
> 4. Instagram
> 5. Pinterest
> 6. YouTube


 Or, as you say: 'social networks'.


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## meijin

Thanks for the help, LC.


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