SOCIAL MEDIA OR SOCIAL NETWORKS: CONCEPTUALIZATION AND METHODOLOGY FOR SOCIOLOGY IN SPANISH

Abstract

The use of the term social networks has spread in a majority way in the Spanish-speaking countries,
not only in an academic and scientific way, but also in the whole society, understanding a commonly
accepted meaning to refer to certain online tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn
among others. Thus, we must ask ourselves if this terminological conception and the conceptual form
are well used and if there is a better alternative, to clarify such an important field of study in the social
sciences. The article compiles definitions and uses of the term, placing special emphasis on the most
primitive definitions of social networks that we can find in the Anglo-Saxon literature. Based on social
scientific studies that were published in English and more recently in Spanish, we can explain the
detailed conceptualization and differentiation of social networks and social media, emphasizing the
way of improvement. A distinction is made between types of social networks and the possibilities
offered by distinguishing between social networks and social media for research methodology in
social sciences in Spanish.