Did you know that if Facebook was a country, it would now be the third largest country in the world? It passed the U.S. earlier this year and is now eclipsed only by China and India in terms of raw population.

That mind-boggling statistic — along with a few dozen more — are showcased in the video below, demonstrating social media's explosive growth in recent years.

Social media are media for social interaction using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques.

The term refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue..