Online habits change with the debut of new products. While today's booming social networks are Instagram and Facebook, the popular platforms of the past were others, such as Orkut and MSN. Making video calls anytime, using emojis and stickers to express yourself without words, and "chatting" with virtual assistants are some of the new ways of communicating that would have been unthinkable before. Check out some of the current Internet habits that would sound strange five years ago.
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Social networks that (almost) everyone has used
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1. Flirt by liking old photo on Instagram
Instagram was created in 2012 and has gained a large number of users to reach 1 billion active profiles per month. As a result, social networking has become one of the resources for virtual flirting. One way to show interest online is by liking old photos, so the user is notified of the activity and finds out they were visiting and reviewing their profile.
Like old Instagram photos may be a sign of interest Photo: Carolina Oliveira / dnetc
2. Wait for Crush Publish Stories to Pull Subject
Stories allows you to make ephemeral posts that stay in the air for only 24 hours. The purpose of the tool is more spontaneous and simple than feed posts, and is often used for daily posts. The option of answering Crush Stories by Direct may be an opportunity to pull subject matter from a theme usually related to the user's post. Networks such as Facebook and WhatsApp have also embraced Snapchat's "borrowed" functionality.
The Instagram Stories are a great way to get things done with people. Photo: Carolina Oliveira / dnetc
3. Failing to leave home to do marathon series
Netflix's arrival in Brazil made it easy to watch series and movies online. With the creation of top-notch content and the purchase of a number of renowned series, leaving home has become a second option for spending the day watching series on Netflix. Of course this has all become possible thanks to improved internet connection in the country.
Series marathons became possible with Netflix's arrival in Brazil Photo: Raissa Delphim / dnetc
4. Keep an eye on the last time a person went online
Popular messenger functionality, "last seen" and message read confirmation have changed the way people stalk on the network. The feature allows you to check the last time the user accessed the service, as well as whether they are currently using the app through online status. The tool is widely used by people who want to know if their crush is online, and even by parents who want to watch over their children.
Last seen symbol on WhatsApp Photo: Luciana Maline / dnetc
5. Make video calls anytime, anywhere
Several applications have been created in recent years to allow video calls to be made at any time, with optimum resolution and audio conditions. Whether using Wi-Fi or mobile networks, making calls has never been as easy as it is today.
One of the most widely used applications for this purpose is WhatsApp, which offers group or non-private video and audio calls. Google has created a specific app for this purpose, the Google Duo, which is automatically installed on Android phones. In the past, only Skype was known to use this function, especially in corporate environments.
With WhatsApp it is possible to make calls and video at any time. Photo: Divulgao / WhatsApp
6. Spending hours playing on cell phone (until pain in the neck)
Creating more powerful phones with more storage space made it easy to download multiple games at the same time on the device. App stores, such as Google Play and the App Store, offer games of different categories and age ratings to suit all tastes.
Children and young people now spend many hours playing mobile games (at home, on the bus, when they go out with friends, etc.), a very different habit from a few years ago. Games like Candy Crush, Flappy Bird and Pokemon GO have become a fever on the Internet.
Mobile games have become popular in recent years Photo: Vanessa Thees / dnetc
7. Have all photos saved but not take up space on mobile
While newer phones have more storage, popular cloud upload alternatives are available to save photos and save handset memory. Android phones come with Google Photos already installed, a tool for storing images and videos online without actually taking up space on the device.
Google Photos lets you save photos to the cloud and save your phone memory Photo: Ana Marques / dnetc
8. Speak everything without words
Emojis and GIFs became popular all over the Internet and were adopted by users as a form of fast and fun communication. It is now possible to build entire conversations without using a single word using only visual elements. WhatsApp is the preferred place to use them, allowing you to send GIFs, emojis and stickers.
The stickers are the new phenomenon of WhatsApp Photo: Rodrigo Fernandes / dnetc
9. Talk to Mobile and Other Electronic Devices
Virtual assistants are becoming more intelligent. Google Assistant, for example, lets you sort various functions using voice commands, without having to dig through your phone for activities anymore.
Saying the name of websites you want to access, asking to play certain music, opening applications and even chatting and asking for advice to virtual "people" has become possible. On iOS devices Apple's virtual assistant is called Siri. To activate it, simply say an "And a, Siri" and it will automatically respond to commands.
Siri and other virtual assistants have become common Photo: Marvin Costa / dnetc
10. Spend hours watching short videos non-stop
Video platforms like YouTube and TikTok have taken over the Internet with short clips. With the current ease of recording and posting videos, it has become common to spend hours watching various videos, hopping from suggestion to suggestion of the platform. Facebook is also a big phenomenon of short-lived videos, with a system that plays one clip after another when the user realizes, he has already spent hours consuming these contents.
