Similar to earlier decades discussions about television in general and video games, the new “social attention distraction”, SAD conversation, is around online social networking. Thank you Congressman Anthony Weiner for lending to this conversation. WHAT a colossal —- social attention distraction — in that spectacle.
Online social networking is like eating potato chips: most people CAN’T eat just one. Some people eat so many that the real nutrition that comes from talking and meeting with people face to face escapes them. But for introverts, at least as I have found, this can be deadly. We can fall victim to — social attention distraction.
How much is too much?
Do you have a profile on Twitter? FaceBook? LinkedIn? Another of several hundred that you DON’T want to admit to? (I fess up – I just accepted invitations to two more this last month. Yikes! What’s an introvert to do?)
The popularity of social networking sites such as FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com more than quadrupled from 2005 to 2009. But still … with cell phones, laptops, the Internet, actually only 23% of adults think they personally spend too much time using the Internet, computers and mobile communications devices.
Time on it’s own is not the one way, too much or too little. Allow the context of how you spend that time help you decide if it’s too much. Yes; you can meet new people, and reconnect with former friends. You can find prospect clients. You can even communicate easily, in a way that gives you time to respond, the introvert’s preference. Still, some of the use of it is, too much.
Recently when I was reading my FaceBook newsfeed I noticed one of my connections that had a status update that garnered 20 or more comments.
I thought, “Wow, I wonder what they are talking about?” Usually most newsfeed comments have 3 or 4 comments so this sparked my natural curiosity.
Even though the topic wasn’t of great interest, “Go look!” I encouraged myself. I took a peek. It turns out to be – a conversation between just two people making arrangements to meet at a local restaurant!
“Are their telephones working?” I thought. I was amazed. Likely not at all introverts.
Social networking sites were created to make money, not to improve our lives or enable us to live out our possible deep fantasies to be on stage. Most of these websites collect data about their members for the purpose of attracting advertisers. I couldn’t help but wonder as I looked at this – now that they have set up their lunch meeting, how many ads will they each see from restaurants? What about coupons? Did anyone else need to be privy to that planning?
- To stop yourself from the potato chip addiction consider a few ideas:
1) First, set your intentions for being online networking,
2) Find out where people who would help you meet those intentions also hangout,
3) Make an appointment with yourself to be there – just like an in-person appointment give it a start and stop time,
4) Connect and engage! Meet, talk, and know that others are watching so keep your conversation as meaningful for all as possible.
I’m most interested to know what your thoughts are about wanting more or less connection.
How much online social networking is too much for you?
How do you know when your connection has crossed over to social online networking addiction, or social attention distraction?
What is the point that you will want more connection with someone and pick up the telephone or Skype?
Good post Pat, the only way I can control the social media beast is to use a timer, limit my sessions to 30 minutes during the day and 60 in the evening and try and keep the total time spent on social media under 2 hours a day.
This was fairly easy until I started on Empire Avenue which is a combination trading-in-social-media-value-game/ and social media site. The most addictive of all the sites but where I have made the most useful and enjoyable contacts.
In my defense, I no longer have children at home, work from home, use social media in my business and do not watch more than 2 hours a week of TV.
But you are right, it can be a huge distraction from rally communicating with people.
Love that approach of the timer – day and then evening. Sounds like you have it under your watchful eye.
Social media are just tools. It’s up to us to find ways of how to limit ourselves of the said media.
And whatever way works could be different for each of us. What do you do to make sure you are acting on what you intuitively know – that social media are just tools?