Messenger Pidove! (Social Networks and writing)

Honestly? Outside of a joke NPC from the first two Capes RPs, I actually haven't incorporated social media into my writing much here and I probably should given how it's such a prominent part of life now. I do make use of it in the comic I'm working on right now though, so that's something.

Interesting topic, since it gives me the chance to ramble talk about some worldbuilding that I normally wouldn't go into.

So, as of right now I haven't had a big need for publicized long distance communication outside of the com orbs (which are the equivalent of walkie talkies), however there is technological advancements to what you could consider a dark age internet that's more oriented around communication, data storage, and other things for either military or government. There is local com links that can go over long distance, but generally long distance "com orbs" are what we'd consider "cell phones" or at least ones that could go over continents, would be illegal on site since stuff that allowed fast anything across country lines (like manga gates for example) would be highly problematic/suspect/fear mongering/threatening and thus were agreed unanimously to not be pursued, at least in the public sphere.

but to jump back onto your question in a more general term, more or less agree with Gimmie and don't really delve into it unless it's plot relevant. I may draw it as reference to subtle worldbuilding, but actually going into the process of it or how it works or why it works the way it does I generally am like "Nobody cares about this crap of mine." and leave it as it is.

I write almost exclusively in the standard Pokémon universe and kind of assume most things that we use now have an equivalent. People text and call each other, of course, and have group chats of some sort. But that tends to be about where I leave it- my characters don't spend much time with social media while on their journies. Not enough to write about and delve into thus far, anyway. I kind of assume they do use some social media but yeah. It's not important enough to them to worry about.

Specifically, Marie (S1) probably uses way more social media than Casey (Trainers), even though it's Casey who will eventually become an Instagram star. Through little effort of his own and he doesn't end up super into it- it's a job. Marie definitely keeps in contact with people better over calls and texts, while Casey tends to be more focused on what's happening in his immediate vicinity at any given point.

I did go through the effort of making some apps that make sense for the universe in S1- the Hoenn Ranger Database specifically. It's not exactly social media, but there are some communication features and the app is used extensively by the player characters and other NPC trainers. It's basically a way for me to restrict what Pokémon are obtainable in each area while also providing flavor text and allowing some interaction with the application. Discord, Youtube, and Instagram (or their equivalents- I make heavy use of Tolkien's translation idea) also exist in S1. And various blogging platforms. It's kind of up to the players what they want to do with them! I haven't gotten very into it yet. It will probably come up more, though.

In Foul Play I have instances where characters use video phone calls that are similar to Facetime/Zoom, moreso the latter. I do that to showcase the other character's body language and facial expressions. There were a couple times also I would also an app that was used in one of the games. Otherwise, stuff like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram I haven't showcased the characters using those yet. I just haven't gotten opportunities for the characters to use those, though I'm certain many people in Foul Play's verse use those.