to meet each other as a virtual avatar
play games together, like ping pong
to be creative together, like with the VR Tilt brush
to scream together in zombie shooters or virtual amusement parks
We're not there yet, but that is the logical course of action.
Social media overlap
Social media are becoming more and more similar and 'better stolen well than badly invented', that development continues. Facebook, for example, is now often venturing into areas where it has not ventured before. For example, with Facebook Workplace it is directly competing with Slack. The blue giant from Mountain View is also busy competing with LinkedIn, because Facebook is going to offer the possibility to post vacancies. But other apps are also becoming more and more similar; photos, videos, live streams, hashtags, masks and stickers, to name a few.
The famous example is Snapchat's 'my story'. One of hospitals email list the unique aspects and a reason why the platform has been able to grow so big so quickly. Since Facebook failed to acquire Snapchat in 2013, it has been doing everything it can to copy the app. Instagram's 'stories' functionality is literally a 1-to-1 copy of Snapchat's 'my story' and recently even WhatsApp has this feature.
By the way, Facebook wants to compete with auction websites like Ebay and Marktplaats with MarketPlace. This is a logical step, because 84 percent of smartphone users in the United States use their smartphone to compare products online.
Social media: the landscape is changing
Thanks for reading this article and great that you've come this far. In summary, in the future of social media we see more messaging, smarter algorithms that understand more who you are, what you're doing and where your potential needs lie. More context, more real time, closer and more customized. The virtual and real worlds will become more intertwined: your smartphone screen will become even more your direct view of the world and your own (real-time) stage to show who you are and what you're doing. In a few years it will also be difficult to determine whether you're talking to a real person or a chatbot. There are also interesting possibilities in virtual reality.