Social media is widely used in many different sectors worldwide. In language education, it can impact students' language learning, and students may have diverse opinions about its use. This study aimed to explore how Thai university students conceptualise social media and their perceptions of it. An elicitation task, "social media is like … because …", was used in an online questionnaire to gather responses from 145 students enrolled in an English course on language and social media at a university in Thailand. The results revealed six categories of social media: "personal space," "society," "information," "communication," "addiction," and "necessity," based on the participants' local contexts, such as "7-11," "Thai market," "Oreo frappe." The perceptions of social media included positive aspects related to personal storytelling, social connectivity, and information access; negative aspects concerning addiction, inauthentic behaviour, and FOMO (fear of missing out); and mixed perspectives on both its potential for personal expression and connection alongside risks to mental health and unrealistic self-presentation. These findings suggest practical applications for using social media in language education and highlight aspects of social media perceptions that could be incorporated into the English classroom.