Over the course of 7 years and surveys of nearly 200,000 internet users across 72 countries, the Wave project has tracked the unprecedented growth of social media. However, Wave has shown that the real story is one of social media's evolution, as it has transformed users from passive observers to active content creators and influencers. Wave also revealed that understanding the fundamental human needs and motivations behind people's social behaviors provides more meaningful insights than simply tracking the latest trends.