Some may call me crazy for giving up access to these mediums, and most people doubted that I could actually last the whole two weeks, but I had been thinking for a while about how heavily my own and my friend’s lives are influenced by both social media platforms.
Too many conversations over the last 12 – 24 months have started with “Did you see on Facebook that…” Sound familiar?
I’m not sure who coined the term ‘stalkbook,’ but urbandictionary.com defines it as “to cyber-stalk people via Facebook or (heaven forbid) myspace.” They couldn’t have put it more simply. I know I wouldn’t be the only one in a room who could admit to the occasional Facebook stalk.
More and more Facebook and Twitter have become major contributors to the way we socialise. On more than one (or ten) occasion I have been added by people who I have apparently met the night beforehand but, until I see their profile picture, I have no idea who they are – sad, but true! All of a sudden we are talking about our weekend, what we’re doing next weekend and how ‘we have to do the night before all over again soon.
I’ve known people who refuse to give out their phone numbers, but will happily give a stranger their full name and get them to add them on Facebook – what’s more dangerous? Or you can be ‘followed’ by someone on Twitter that you may have never met.
I guess until my time off both mediums, I hadn’t really thought of it this way.
I know how ridiculous it seems to say that my life without social media was very different, but there were some significant changes in my life, particularly in terms of free time!
When I was finally given back my password to both mediums, I had 53 notifications, 15 inbox messages, 10 event invitations and 10 friend requests – I had missed two group dinner dates within two weeks, simply because it was all planned via Facebook.
Although the above may not be everyone’s experience with Facebook and/ or Twitter, the fact of the matter is – social media is an integral part of many people’s lives. We rely on it to connect with friends, family members, work colleagues – the list goes on!
Working within the PR industry, I often see articles written, or hear of stories of big shot CEO’s saying that social media is not a useful tool. I would be interested in how they justify these comments when the most recent statistics given by Facebook about their users show that;
- There are more than 500 million active users on Facebook
- 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
- Average user has 130 friends
- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
Since 2008 membership on Twitter has jumped from three million to 190 million. Business owners, journalists, celebrities, and bloggers would all agree that Twitter is by far one of the better ways to engage your fans, or followers. It is instant, interactive and easy.
After the last 16 days I have, more than ever, recognised the significance of social networking in my life. It’s crazy to think about the old versus new ways of communication and how much it influences my day to day life.
My name is Lauren and I am STILL a social networking addict!
