Online social networking, time for an intervention?
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Addiction -The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.
The question is simple, are you addicted to online social networking e.g. Friendfeed, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and too what extent? Do you obsessively check your multiple social networking sites accounts every hour on the hour or less? Do you constantly check blogs, email, chat rooms, stats, tweets, read comments, post comments, feeds, pictures and videos? Do you spend countless hours of the day looking at and adjusting your profiles on the various networking sites? If you answered yes to any of these, you might be addicted. But the question is, to what extent? Do you find that spending so much time online has disrupted your relationships and productivity both on personal and professional levels? Chances are if you are reading this post, you are probably a techie/cyber geek like myself. We all share the addiction, just on different levels.
Since 1997 when I discovered the internet and subsequently made a career from it, I have been addicted. The extent of my addiction is bordering OCD. Presently, I work for a large internet company. Everything I do is web based. This keeps me in multiple browsers all day long, connected to my social streams and networks. I log close to 70 hours a week on the net between work and home. When it comes to my offline life, I’m a very private person who does not require the need to socialize. Coworkers at work, my wife, daughter, dogs and the occasional family event is all the socializing I need offline. The internet is like the Matrix for me .I’m stuck in it, and I never want to leave. It has consumed me, and the way I do things in my life for the past 11 years. The internet fulfills this never ending, round the clock thirst for knowledge and interaction. You can compare this to a drug addict, whose only thoughts are fixated on getting their next high.
With the advent of Friendfeed, my addiction has been fueled even further. Friendfeed has caused me to abandon all other social networking sites, because it gives me all the “high” that I need. What social networking site feeds your addiction?
A Stanford study conducted in 2006 seeks to define whether internet addiction is a problem.
In the Stanford study— Researchers conducted a nationwide household survey and interviewed 2,513 adults. Because no generally accepted screening instrument exists for problematic Internet use, the researchers developed their questions by extrapolating from other compulsive and addictive conditions.
The researchers found that 68.9 percent were regular Internet users, which is consistent with previous studies, and that:
- 13.7 percent (more than one out of eight respondents) found it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time
- 12.4 percent stayed online longer than intended very often or often
- 12.3 percent had seen a need to cut back on Internet use at some point
- 8.7 percent attempted to conceal non-essential Internet use from family, friends and employers
- 8.2 percent used the Internet as a way to escape problems or relieve negative mood
What type of social media user are you?
The Super User – The Super User is a person who has a lot of pull on any given site. They have a ton of friends and fans and for this reason whatever they bookmark or submit gets lots of views and votes. It is no coincidence you see the same usernames repeating over and over on Digg’s homepage. The Super User takes pride in the fact that they are a Super User. Some have ulterior motives, but to most it’s like a game to them.
The Avid Learner – The AL is knowledge hungry. They love self help articles, how to’s, and cool science. The Avid Learner is also typically an ‘Active User’ at more tech based sites like Digg.
The Active User – This user is really active on any given site – they submit a lot, vote and comment a lot. They may always remain just an active user or eventually evolve into a ‘Super User’.
The Helpful Stranger – The Helpful Stranger is a nice person and loves helping other people. Most of the people they help they never have or will see in real life, but they are experienced with wisdom and like to share it. Helpful Strangers often become ‘Super Users’ because of the reputations they build.
The Smart Webmaster – The smart webmaster gets it. They may be an ‘Average Joe’, ‘Active Member’ or even ‘Super User’ but they understand social media optimization. They understand how to link bait for specific niched sites. They know how to use second tier social bookmarking sites to leverage first tier ones. They know it takes being social and building quality content to strive on social media sites – and they do it often to cash in big time.
So……… Are you an addict like me? Time for an intervention?
