red social
nounCEFR B1High frequency
What does “red social” mean in English?
social network, social media platform
social network, social media platform (la red social, las redes sociales — feminine plural is by far the most common form)
Example sentences
Cada vez más personas mayores usan redes sociales para mantenerse en contacto con la familia que vive lejos.
More and more older people use social media to stay in touch with family who live far away.
Las redes sociales pueden ser muy útiles para difundir información, pero también facilitan la propagación de noticias falsas.
Social media can be very useful for spreading information, but they also facilitate the spread of fake news.
Si pasas demasiado tiempo en las redes sociales, puede afectar negativamente a tu salud mental y a la calidad de tu sueño.
If you spend too much time on social media, it can negatively affect your mental health and sleep quality.
How to use it
Red social is a feminine multiword noun (la red social, las redes sociales) meaning 'social network' or 'social media platform'. The plural redes sociales is by far the most common form in discourse — almost always used when talking about the category as a whole. Red on its own means 'network' (also used for electrical or transport networks: la red eléctrica, la red de metro) or 'the internet' in informal speech (buscar en la red — search the internet). The polysemy of red (network in any domain) is an important register marker: redes sociales is specific to social media; red alone is more general.
Common mistake
Red is feminine (la red, las redes) — do not use el. The plural redes sociales is the standard phrase; red social in the singular refers to a specific platform. Do not confuse red (network) with la Red (the Internet, informal) or with rojo/a (the colour red) — they are entirely different words with different etymologies.