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Bing Social Media Quiz: 10 Questions With Answers
Social media has transformed how billions of people connect, share, and communicate online. From early chat rooms to modern platforms, these interactive spaces enable users to create content, build communities, and stay informed. This quiz explores the definition, history, and key features of social media.
Looking for Microsoft's own quiz? It is on your Microsoft Rewards dashboard. This page is our own practice quiz on the same topic, so you can learn the facts first. For the daily image quiz see today's Bing Homepage Quiz.
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Pick A, B or C for each question. The right answer turns green and a short fact explains it.
All 10 questions and answers
Every question with its answer and explanation. Open “Show answer” after you guess.
1 What does social media enable users to do?
- A Send private messages to corporations only
- B Create, share, and aggregate content among virtual communities
- C Only view content created by professional journalists
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✓ Answer: B. Create, share, and aggregate content among virtual communities
Did you know? Social media facilitates the creation, sharing, and aggregation of content such as ideas, interests, and forms of expression amongst virtual communities and networks.
2 Which early system, launched in 1960, offered pioneering social media features?
- A The World Wide Web at CERN
- B The PLATO system at the University of Illinois
- C The AOL network in New York
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✓ Answer: B. The PLATO system at the University of Illinois
Did you know? PLATO was launched in 1960 at the University of Illinois and commercially marketed by Control Data Corporation, featuring innovations like Notes, TERM-talk instant messaging, and Talkomatic, perhaps the first online chat room.
3 What was SixDegrees.com notable for pioneering?
- A Being the first online service where people connected using their actual names instead of anonymously
- B Being the first website to sell products online
- C Being the first platform to share videos online
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✓ Answer: A. Being the first online service where people connected using their actual names instead of anonymously
Did you know? SixDegrees was unique as it was the first online service designed for people to connect using their actual names instead of anonymously, featuring profiles, friends lists, and school affiliations.
4 When did Usenet, the first open social media app, become established?
- A 1991
- B 1973
- C 1980
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✓ Answer: C. 1980
Did you know? Usenet was conceived by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis in 1979 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, and was established in 1980.
5 How do social media outlets differ from traditional media in their transmission model?
- A Social media reach fewer people than traditional media
- B Social media use dialogic transmission (many to many), while traditional media use monologic transmission (one to many)
- C Social media cannot transmit information as quickly as traditional media
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✓ Answer: B. Social media use dialogic transmission (many to many), while traditional media use monologic transmission (one to many)
Did you know? Social media outlets operate in a dialogic transmission system with many sources to many receivers, while traditional media like newspapers and radio operate under a monologic transmission model with one source to many receivers.
6 According to the reference, what percentage of the global population used social media as of 2023?
- A Approximately 59%
- B Approximately 22%
- C Approximately 75%
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✓ Answer: A. Approximately 59%
Did you know? As of 2023, as many as 4.76 billion people used social media, representing some 59% of the global population.
7 Which platform was known for popularizing stories, short videos that self-destruct after 24 hours?
- A Twitter
- B YouTube
- C Snapchat
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✓ Answer: C. Snapchat
Did you know? Snapchat popularized stories as short videos that self-destruct after 24 hours, a concept later adopted by Instagram and YouTube as platforms converged their features.
8 What is a key difference between mobile social media and desktop social media?
- A Mobile social media only works with location-based services
- B Mobile social media cannot display videos or images
- C Mobile social media is distinguished by its ubiquity since users no longer need to be at a desk
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✓ Answer: C. Mobile social media is distinguished by its ubiquity since users no longer need to be at a desk
Did you know? Mobile social media refers to using social media on smartphones and tablets and is distinguished by its ubiquity, since users no longer have to be at a desk to participate.
9 Which of the following describes space-timers in mobile social media?
- A Messages with relevance for a specific location at a specific point in time, like posting about a traffic jam
- B Videos that automatically repeat every 24 hours
- C Posts that remain visible indefinitely on a user's profile
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✓ Answer: A. Messages with relevance for a specific location at a specific point in time, like posting about a traffic jam
Did you know? Space-timers are location and time-sensitive exchanges of messages with relevance for a specific location at a specific point in time, such as posting about a traffic jam.
10 According to the reference, what does the American Psychological Association note about algorithm effects?
- A Algorithms reduce the spread of emotional content online
- B Algorithms prioritize all content equally regardless of emotional impact
- C Algorithms that track user engagement tend to favor content that spurs negative emotions like anger and outrage
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✓ Answer: C. Algorithms that track user engagement tend to favor content that spurs negative emotions like anger and outrage
Did you know? According to the American Psychological Association, algorithms that track user engagement to prioritize what is shown tend to favor content that spurs negative emotions like anger and outrage.
About Social Media
Social media emerged gradually from early computing systems. The PLATO system launched in 1960 with pioneering features like message forums and instant messaging. ARPANET evolved into the Internet in the 1990s, and the first open social media app, Usenet, was established in 1980. Electronic bulletin board systems (BBSs) became widespread throughout the 1980s and early 1990s before migrating online.
Questions and facts checked against the Wikipedia article Social media. How we write quizzes: editorial policy.
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