Bing Social Media Quiz – Test Your Social Media Knowledge

Why take a social media quiz?

Most of us open a social app dozens of times a day, yet few people could say when Facebook started, who came up with the hashtag, or why so many platforms ask users to be at least 13. This Bing social media quiz is built to close that gap in a few relaxed minutes.

The 20 questions cover four areas: origins and milestones, the deals that shaped big tech, internet language, and staying safe online. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so even a wrong guess teaches you something you can bring up at the next trivia night.

Each fact was checked against company announcements, official documentation or long-standing public records. Questions focus on settled history rather than fast-changing numbers like user counts, so the answers stay accurate long after you read them.

A quick timeline of social media

Social networking moved from desktop curiosity to the center of daily life in under three decades. Here are the milestones that appear throughout the quiz.

• 1997

  SixDegrees.com

  Often cited as the first recognizable social network, letting users build profiles and list friends.

• 2004

  TheFacebook goes live

  Launched for Harvard students in February, it opened to the general public in 2006.

• 2005

  YouTube and Reddit arrive

  YouTube's first video went up in April; Google bought the site the following year.

• 2006

  Twitter launches

  Its 140-character posts created a new short-form style of public conversation.

• 2010

  Instagram and Pinterest

  Smartphone cameras and visual sharing pushed social media toward photos.

• 2011

  Snapchat

  Disappearing messages, and later Stories, changed how people shared everyday moments.

• 2017

  TikTok goes global

  ByteDance's international short-video app merged with Musical.ly the next year.

• 2021

  Facebook becomes Meta

  The parent company rebranded around virtual reality while the app kept its name.

• 2023

  X and Threads

  Twitter became X in July, the same month Meta launched Threads.

• 2024

  Bluesky opens up

  The decentralized network dropped its invite-only waitlist in February.

Social media terms worth knowing

Several questions hinge on vocabulary. These are the terms that come up most often when people talk about platforms and how they work.

Smart habits for a safer feed

Knowing social media history is fun; knowing how to protect yourself is essential. These habits come straight from the safety questions in the quiz.

• Turn on two-factor authentication for every account that offers it, ideally with an authenticator app or security key rather than text messages.
• Use a unique password for each platform so one data breach can't unlock everything.
• Pause before you share. Check whether a viral claim comes from a credible source; screenshots and cropped videos are easy to take out of context.
• Review privacy settings a few times a year — apps add new features, and the defaults are not always the most private option.
• Never log in through links in DMs. Type the site address yourself or use the official app.
• Remember that “disappearing” isn't permanent. Anyone can screenshot a story or a snap.

Answer key

Finished the quiz, or just want to study first? Open the full answer key below.

More Bing quizzes to try

If you enjoyed this one, keep the streak going with our other daily and weekly quizzes.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and fact-checking

Facts in this quiz were verified against primary and official sources where possible, including company newsrooms and announcements from Meta, Microsoft and YouTube; protocol documentation from AT Protocol; and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's guidance on COPPA. Historical details such as the origin of the word “meme” come from Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene (1976). Spotted an error? Corrections are reviewed and the update date above is changed when the article is revised.