Social Media Overload

Thursday, March 4, 2010




FACEBOOK.

TWITTER.

YOUTUBE.

LINKEDIN.

FLICKR.

DIGG.


ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR HEAD EXPLODE!


I am sure that there are many other websites that can be lumped into the social media category (myspace, photobucket, etc...) these are the leaders. I must say I am a frequent visitor to all of these. Facebook very much so. 

But today after I spent my second shift checking all social media, it made me wonder how much is too much. I sat there looking at the same statuses, tweets and pictures that were there 3 hours earlier. And going through all of these multiple times a day really does take up time for, well the normal stuff in life.

So let's take a look at why people are borderline addicted. Yes, sadly even me.

Is it just to pass the time? For me, yes most of the time. What I read doesn't interest me all the time, it just gives me something to do at that moment I am sitting at the computer with no website to visit. It becomes second nature to some people. Go online, log into facebook. See who's doing what today. Or who broke up with who.

Is it to keep in touch? In small quantities all of these tools are very useful to families and friends that are far away. It is much easier to keep in touch than just via the telephone. You can post pictures of the newest addition to your family or a funny video that you took of your children. It's the always adding pictures from the cell phone and the incessant status updates or tweets. I'm talking 5-10 a day. Yes there are those people.


Is it to always be in the loop? With more and more social media sites, it becomes very hard to STAY OUT OF the loop. You become engaged in multiple websites and multiple checkings throughout the day. It becomes almost an addiction. 

Wait, if I don't check facebook today, I won't know know who uploaded pictures. What if someone finds out information before me? And I need to see what the celebrities are tweeting on Twitter. And I need to make sure to upload my pictures from last night on Flickr to share with everyone. Oh wait, there's a video posted here I should watch on YouTube. This video is similar so I should watch it. because it looks funny. 

And on and on and on it goes...

It is great to be in the loop and involved with social media. It has become very widespread within businesses, companies and society as a whole. It is important to utilize these pathways to get across to the public. I personally enjoy my Twitter page filled with celebrities tweeting about their days. Why? I don;'t know but it is what I check it for multiple times a day. But I do realize it is necessary to keep in check. Step away from the buzz and the information before it gets in you.

So I decided today to make a conscious effort to check each ONLY once a day. Especially after looking at this article. It is true. I am ready for a detox. It won't be easy but I want to see if I am able to and how it feels when I do sign on.

Other suggestions to detox.
1. Maybe cut down ths social media sites you are on. Reevaluate the purpose why you signed up for each one and if it is really necessary to be a part of it.
2. Segregate work and play. For example, use Facebook for all your fun and utilize Twitter for business and don't use TwitPic to put up silly pictures or vice versa. 
3. And most importantly. TIME MANAGEMENT. ----My detox plan. Cut down time on all of these. If you spend a half hour checking ALL of your social media sites, that is a reasonable amount of time.

And maybe if you or I don't make it through cold turkey,  we can take a little trip to Lorien Hotel and Spa in Virginia. They are offering a nice Social Media Detox plan


Let the detox begin.




-It takes huge courage to take a good long look at your life and decide to make a change-

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