Social media refers to open spaces on the internet for people to connect from different parts of the world. While there is the freedom for people to connect and socialize, it can be used excessively.
There are people who go to social media to escape reality. Some people have totally different lives on Social Media and depend on it while abandoning their actual lives.
There are several names for people who spend too much time on social media.
15 words to call someone who spends a lot of time on social media
- Social media addict.
- Instagrammer (or IGer)
- Infonaut
- Content creator
- Tweep
- Social media manager
- Social media voyeur
- Influencer
- Digital narcissist
- Media personality
- Lurker
- Social rat
- Exhibitionist
- Twitterati
- Tiktoker
Social media addict.
A person who spends too much time on social media may be called a Social Media Addict. This is a person who is obsessed with social media and is always or spends most of his/her time on a social media platform.
A social media addict is one who wants to stay connected to social media even when he/she isn’t doing anything special.
A social media addict believes he/she can get the best of fun on social media. However, even when there isn’t anything interesting to him/her on social media, he/she would feel reluctant to go offline because he/she believes social media is still the best place to be.
In other words, a social media addict doesn’t think he/she can find fun anywhere else.
Example:
- Try hanging out with your brothers while you still can. Don’t be a social media addict.
Instagrammer (or IGer)
An Instagrammer (or IGer) is a person who uses Instagram, especially one who actively posts and engages in the Instagram community.
While this word may refer to random Instagram users, it is more suitable for a recognized Instagram user who is active on that platform.
Being an Instagrammer doesn’t suggest that he/she isn’t on any other social media platform. However, being recognized as an Instagrammer implies that he/she is most popular on Instagram and many people would go to his/her Instagram account to connect with him/her, rather than go to his/her account on other platforms.
Example:
- I understand that you are an Instagrammer but don’t let that affect your personal life.
Infonaut
An Infonaut is a person who constantly navigates information on the internet or on social media. This refers to a person who only goes online for the purpose of information.
You can also use this to refer to someone who is more interested in reading online stories rather than engaging or posting.
An Infonaut may be searching for information to put to use. He/she may also want to simply stay connected.
There is also a chance that an Infonaut doesn’t exactly find fun in socializing on social media but spends time reading the news when he/she is bored.
Example:
- Leave him be. He is just an Infonaut.
Content Creator
A content creator is a person or business that makes posts that are often or always related to an idea.
A content creator makes posts in form of texts, images, or videos, to promote a business or topics related to the business. A content creator may also not work for a business but is making posts from which he/she earns money.
This is a person who has made social media his/her workspace, earning money from how much social media users engage with his/her content.
Example:
- He has been a content creator for some months. That’s his workspace now.
Tweep
Tweep is a name for a person who uses Twitter. It is often used as ‘Tweeps’ to refer to all Twitter users as an audience in general.
When a person says ‘Tweeps’ on Twitter, he/she is asking the audience (i.e. all Twitter users that can see the post) to listen up or call their attention to something.
Example:
- I wonder why tweeps scroll through important information without engaging.
Social media manager
A social media manager is a person who is paid to assist a business or another person in controlling social media accounts.
A social media manager may or may not act as the content creator for the business but he/she posts it on the social media page.
The job of the social media manager is to stay online on behalf of the business and make sure to respond to every comment and private message.
Unlike the other names mentioned earlier, this is one that is required to always be on social media and not just for fun.
A social media manager is expected to respond to messages early and keep customers and prospects engaged.
Example:
- I am a social media manager. FYI, I’m working here.
Social media voyeur
A social media voyeur is a person who goes to social media for the purpose of viewing thirst traps. Thirst traps are wanton images or videos posted to get sensual attention from the opposite gender.
A social media voyeur is a person who silently watches social media users who post thirst traps simply for the pleasure of watching them.
The term, ‘Social media voyeur’, is also casually used for people who simply scroll through social media without engaging with any post or socializing.
Example:
- He’s one silly social media voyeur. He’s waiting for you to post something naughty, I bet.
Influencer
An influencer is a person with a massive following on social media platforms. This is a person who has followers who are actively engaging with his/her posts on social media.
This kind of person is in a position to easily influence many people, as many of his/her followers are loyally engaging with his/her posts.
Example:
- I may not be a big influencer yet but I’m getting there.
Digital narcissist
A Digital Narcissist is a person who shares parts of his/her life that are considered too intimate.
This is the kind of person who tries to get attention by sharing pictures, videos, and intimate stories of his/her life.
The consequence of this is that his/her self-esteem will begin to rely on how much engagement the posts are getting from the audience.
A digital narcissist wants his/her beauty or importance to be validated by social media, making him/her develop low self-esteem when he/she is no longer getting social media attention.
Example:
- You’re such a digital narcissist. No one needs to see this but you’ve put it all over social media.
Media personality
This can also be called ‘Social media celebrity’ or ‘Influencer’. There are people who have built a world on Social Media so their audience is always expecting them to make a post or an appearance on social media.
A Media personality is a celebrity or creator made prominent by his/her social media appearances. This term also refers to a person who works in Mass Media.
A Media personality has several followers and has the ability to generate a lot of audience for every post made by him/her.
Example:
- My son is a Media personality now. I guess the leisure time spent on social media isn’t a waste after all.
Lurker
Lurker can refer to a Social media Voyeur and it is a better option for someone who isn’t on social media for just thirst traps.
A lurker is a social media user who scrolls through content without engaging. He/she may also check the profiles of some users to learn about them but without negative intentions.
A lurker simply likes watching others do things and entertains himself or herself by doing so.
Example:
- I can be a lurker at times. I mindlessly scroll and, sometimes, I’m not even seeing the posts.
Social rat
Social rat is a name for another type of social media user.
A social rat is a person or group that posts private information about another person, group, or entity on Social media without obtaining consent. This can be compared to eavesdropping on a person’s private conversation and sharing it with the world.
A social rat will get a lot of engagement from people who are interested in learning about the topic of the post. Also, a social rat will keep eavesdropping on more people to give the audience what they would like to read about.
Example:
- We have to beware of social media rats, these days.
Exhibitionist
Social media voyeurs go to social media to lust after thirst traps on some social media accounts. These thirst traps are posted by some people. They may be considered Digital Narcissists but a more correct term would be ‘Exhibitionist’.
An exhibitionist is a person who tries to get attention by showing off his/her body or behaving in an extravagant way. This may refer to people who post thirst traps or people who show off wealth on social media.
The term, ‘Exhibitionist’, is mostly used to refer to people who show off their private body parts to make the opposite gender lust after them.
Example:
- When did you become an exhibitionist? That is not meant for the world to see.
Twitterati
Twitterati is a collective name for elite or active users of the Twitter platform. It is mostly used for people who are educated and very efficient in using Twitter. However, it also refers to people who are always active on the platform.
Twitterati refers to active users while Tweeps refers to all users who can see a post.
Example:
- He has gotten more connections since he joined the Twitterati.
TikToker
A TikToker is a person who actively uses TikTok and creates content on the platform. Every user of the TikTok app can create content but not all of them do.
The term, ‘TikToker’, refers to only users who create content and have followers.
A TikTok user can be called a TikToker whether he/she has active followers or not. However, the term is mostly used for popular TikTok creators.
Example:
- She is a TikToker. It has become a full-time job now.
Social Media has been around for a while but not long enough to have many words that are specific to its usage.
While there aren’t many formal words for obsessive users of Social Media, there are multiple words that may refer to such people which are either informal or not central to social media.
For example, words like TikToker, Instagrammer, and Twitterati are informal words for users of some social media platforms.
An obsessive user of social media may also simply be called a ‘Social media addict’.
