Say no to tweets in 2012! With the new year

Say no to tweets in 2012!

With the new year come resolutions. What are yours?

a) Become an expert in social media

b) Try to wean myself from social media

c) Find the time to see what social media is all about

While some of you may dream of having more time to become social media super experts, others have taken notice of the danger social media may represent. Social media and phone communications (text messages, status updates, tweets, etc.) have created a new, increasingly prevalent problem: social media addiction.

A few months ago, it was still relatively easy to wean yourself off social platforms—no computer access, no social media. All you had to do was get away to an all-inclusive resort and let the waves rock you. With the explosion of mobile Internet, those days are over. Your Facebook account follows you everywhere there is a wireless connection. Most young users don’t even know the colour of the sky; when they go outside, their eyes are continually riveted on their cells. Ironically, for the day’s weather, they consult a mobile application. The well-known Retrevo (1) study done in 2010 showed that 48% of respondents checked or updated Facebook or Twitter during the night after they went to bed, if they happened to wake up, or first thing in the morning. 18% of people under 25 said they don’t even get out of bed to check in on social media sites. Similarly, 49% of people under 25 are ready to check out messages during meals, during a meeting (22%) or even during an intimate moment (11%).

A study also showed that officer workers often glance at their inbox 30 to 40 times an hour (2). Furthermore, according to another study, our attention span 10 years ago was 12 minutes. . . and only five minutes today (3), a direct side effect of our excessive online presence.

So, should you be worried about your social media addiction in 2012?

Are you a social media addict?

Here are a few signs and symptoms:

How often you check in on social media: Do you check your updates or e-mail several times an hour?
Why you go on social sites: Do you often check out what’s new on the sites you use without a specific purpose in mind (e.g. finding an answer or getting specific information)?
Compulsively checking updates: Do you feel a strong compulsion to regularly check in on the various Web 2.0 platforms that you use? A University of Maryland study showed that when some students are cut off from social media for 24 hours or more, they describe their “need” in the same way as drug addicts in withdrawal (4). If you start shaking when you can’t access your e-mail. . . ask yourself some hard questions.
Time spent with virtual friends: If you spend more time with virtual friends than “real world” friends, you may have a problem. The relative proportion of people that you don’t know among your Facebook “friends” is a good indicator.
Feeling of being dependent: If you feel guilty when reminded of how much time you spend online, you are probably addicted to social media.

Inspired from Internet Addiction, Signs, Symptoms, Treatment, and Self-Help (5).

Here are a few tips for limiting your use of social media, should you happen to have one or more of these symptoms.

Track your time online: Sometimes, you underestimate the amount of time you spend online. Therefore, tracking it helps you be aware of it. Ideally, set yourself a specific limit in minutes (or hours) per day—and stick to it.
Limit how many platforms you are active on. You can automate the posting of your comments to appear at the same time on all the platforms in which you participate (with HootSuite for instance). The more memberships (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn groups, etc.) you have, however, the more likely you are to receive and have to respond to messages from other users.
Set goals. Goals are the enemy of procrastination. If you browse aimlessly, the Internet’s tentacles will quickly ensnare you. Each time you go on a social networking site, ask yourself this question: Why am I going on the site? (e.g. to see if so-and-so has answered your question). Once you have accomplished your goal, leave the site.
Deactivate alerts. If your phone has the ability to activate alerts that display a window as soon as you receive an update, ignore it—it’s your concentration’s worst enemy.
Go outside! Yes, social media is fascinating! It allows you to communicate with tons of people and discover lots of interesting subjects—but an outdoor activity with friends can be just as valuable.

Excerpted from Managing your social network addiction (Lifehack) (6).

In conclusion, social media is the new way of communicating and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it. Learn to use it wisely, however, and not overdo it—just like a good bottle of wine!

1- http://www.retrevo.com/content/blog/2010/03/social-media-new-addiction%3F

2- http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/ff_nicholas_carr/all/1

3- http://www.insurance.lloydstsb.com/personal/general/mediacentre/homehazards_pr.asp

4- http://voices.washingtonpost.com/campus-overload/2010/04/fighting_a_social_media_addict.html

5- http://www.helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htm

6- http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/managing-your-social-network-addiction.html

Didier Dubois & Emilie Pelletier
HRM Group
@hrmnetwork