I found this article last week and I felt that it really reinforced why I never bought the social network hype in the first place. After seeing some of my friends become very dedicated to social network sites several years ago, I decided to not participate because of the amount of time and energy involved. The following article was on the front page of last week's USA Today.
SOME DISH SOCIAL NETWORKS TO RECLAIM TIME, PRIVACY
By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY
Facebook reports that it has 400 million active users worldwide. Make that 399,999,999. Laura LeNoir is done.
"I feel better, I feel lighter, I got my privacy back," says LeNoir, 42, an office manager at an educational software company in Birmingham, Ala., who logged off a few weeks ago. "People say, 'You'll be back.' But I read more, walk the dogs more. I'll be fine."
As the social networking train gathers momentum, some riders are getting off.
Their reasons run the gamut from being besieged by online "friends" who aren't really friends to lingering concerns over where their messages and photos might materialize. If there's a common theme to their exodus, it's the nagging sense that a time-sucking habit was taking the "real" out of life.
When I first closed my Facebook account, I felt disconnected from the world and missed the constant updates," says Leanna Fry, 32, of Provo, Utah, who is teaching English in Erzurum, Turkey. She signed off after feeling harassed by strangers. "But I've discovered I don't have to know what hundreds of people are doing. Now I have more time for people who really matter in my life."
Read the entire article: http://tinyurl.com/yh2f8mo
1.) How much time do you honestly average on social networking sites ( computer and mobile device)?
2.) Have you recently stopped using a social network site or thought about stopping? Why or why not?
3 comments:
Great article! I definitely waste too much time and energy on facebook. Time I could be using for homework, friends, or family.
I think that facebook's statistics show how the Internet has changed how we communicate. The people in the article feared that they would lose touch with people, as if there were no other way to keep up with their friends. With all the other forms of communication that we have (face-to-face, telephone, and yes even writing) why do we give so much emphasis on a social networking site? It's passive and easy. I definitely have not kept contact with people I don't see. I message and check up on the people I see on an almost daily basis.
I don't think social networking sites are all that problematic. It has to do with how you spend your time. If you spend hours and hours on Facebook, then of course I would say you should probably back off a little. But the same is true with all things: moderation. The article quotes a woman saying, "I read more, walk the dogs more." What if she spent all of her time walking her dogs, or doing nothing but reading? She would need to cut back on those things, too. I see this not so much as a social networking problem, but as a time management problem.
I think this is a great article. I am very guilty of wasting time on Facebook when I should be doing homework or other tasks. I think it is a medium which takes discipline and time-management and many users do not consciously think about. Sure, there are frequent, "I should be studying", Facebook statuses, but it is not until a deadline approaches that time management is considered.
To answer your questions...
1. I believe I spend about an hour to an hour a day actively reading, commenting, and utilizing social networking sites. I often leave it up on my computer most of the day and check it randomly.
2. In January I deactivated my account for two days. I tried to refocus on interacting with friends in other ways such as meeting for lunch and calling them. However, half of my family lives in Scotland and they use Facebook to see how I am doing and send messages, since I can not call often.
I admit to having been bitten by the social-networking bug. I am fascinated by social networking and the shifts in communication. It is a powerful tool and if it is used ineffectively it could have a negative impact for individuals and even businesses.
I found this article entitled, "The Impact of Social Networking tools and Guidelines to Use Them"
I think this is a valuable resource since it lists sites potential employers use to find your information. I encourage my classmates to do your research on yourself, to determine what can be found and if that is the depiction of yourself that you would like a potential employer to see.
http://www.llrx.com/features/goodgoogle.htm
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