When they’re so well researched and eloquently written, it’s difficult to argue with some of the points Gladwell raises about social media. But could it be that the ‘lessening level of motivation [to participate]’ he identifies is less a consequence of the platform, and more a symptom of a postwar generation (or two) who have never known real struggle?

Although social media remains very much a buzzword of the moment, the concept is as old as the internet itself. It just took a while for the technology to catch up. Any arguments for and against probably stem from the innate human desire to take sides on any perceived ‘popular trend’.

In a few years we may look back on this period as merely another evolutionary stage of the internet. By then, we may not even call it social media any more.