The use of social media has experienced exponential growth in the last decade, as these platforms are not only used for personal purposes but also in many areas, such as entertainment, education, business, and work. Among the features they offer, the possibility of sharing content such as pictures and videos has become very attractive. This article shows the economic and environmental cost of uploading a video to some of the most popular social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. To do this, we explain what happens every time a user uploads a video. The evaluation points out the processes involved and identifies the most polluting ones. The findings reveal that video compression algorithms are among the key elements that need to be optimized to increase energy efficiency in the design of these widely used applications.
