(image: Pixabay)
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — U.S. tech giant Meta Platforms Inc. on Wednesday released a report analyzing the mutual interactions of users worldwide connected through Facebook and Instagram.
The report identified four primary cultural trends for this year and the future: exploratory identities, refined relationships, assertive aspirations, and lived values.
The report showed that there are robust conversations about two primary components of one’s identity — ‘body’ and ‘age’ — with positive perceptions towards them.
Around 25 percent of South Korean respondents said they had participated in the #bodypositivitymovement campaign, and discussion about ‘middle-age’ on Instagram jumped by 2,402 percent from the previous year.
‘Relationships’ still account for a significant part of personal happiness, but the patterns and methods of engaging in relationships are changing.
Facebook and Instagram saw a spike in the usage of Korean terms for ‘boyfriend’ (4,132 percent), ‘girlfriend’ (3,167 percent), ‘intimate relationship’ (4,078 percent), and ‘blind dates’ (1,249 percent).
The third keyword phrase, ‘assertive aspirations,’ alludes to the rising interest in wellness and career based on clear life objectives and goals.
In fact, the number of Instagram posts mentioning the Korean term for ‘healing’ was 53 times higher than a year earlier.
Lastly, the report suggests that people worldwide are increasingly focusing on the realization and achievement of their own values.
Among South Korean respondents, 25 percent said they had started a new hobby within the previous six months, sharing their interests on Facebook and Instagram to create communities.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
