HAVE you ever tested yourself—or your people in the office—to see how much time you use on social media which is not work-related, and how many notifications one gets in an hour or in a day from social media? If you sometimes wonder where your time has gone after a day has passed, whether at work or at leisure, only to realize (or some do not even realize it) that you have been spending too much time on social media, you are probably a victim of social-media addiction.
There was one smart test, which a teacher made to emphasize to her class and to make them realize that social media can sometimes prove to be such a distraction and can cause such stress. For a certain class in one period, students are made to tally, in real time, the number of notifications that popped up on their screen whether it is text, call, Snapchat or Instagram. They were told not to reply to avoid generating replies and generating more notifications.
One girl got close to 150 notifications in just an hour! (source: www.nbcwashington.com)
I think that does not apply alone to students. Those who are in the workplace may be getting more, now that we are communicating not only through e-mails but also through Vibers, WhatsApp and Messengers. It takes a lot of discipline not to respond to all of these notifications. There are some people I know who do not answer and open their social-media applications during work hours and check it only after work hours or during breaks. Their friends on Facebook know they are at work because they never open their social media during office hours, seeing it as such a big distraction.
Offices will be more efficient in their work if they make it an official policy not to allow their employees to spend time on social media—not related to work—during office hours. The train of thought when you are focused on your work and when you suddenly turn your attention to a notification on social media can disturb your brain and hinder the capacity to generate creative ideas. It makes us numb and like zombies we can be passively using the brain instead of actively using it for a more valuable use of time.
You should also check if you yourself are addicted to social media. Example: you are about to make an important call and you suddenly see those notifications popping up on your screen when you open your phone—and you open these notifications and start responding. You realize later on that you were about to make an important call to a client, only to discover you already spent several minutes on social media. You should check yourself and avoid this habit.
Have you ever experienced being so focused in responding to notifications in your social media that before you know it an hour has already passed? Those are precious times which can otherwise be spent in a more productive way. And it is not only inefficient. Smartphone-driven social media and even social media on our desktops and laptops is reported as one of the biggest drivers of stress. A stress in America report shows that 86 percent of US adults suffer from social-media stress. According to the report, the average “constant checker” reports an average stress level of 5.3 out of 10. But take note of this, the highest stress levels which are also reported in the survey findings are actually also from people who check work e-mail constantly even on days off—the stress level is even higher—at a level of 6.0 out of 10!
On the other hand, when used properly, social media such as the Facebook page of the company and LinkedIn can help promote the company. However, careful thoughts and monitoring should be in place on what to post and share in these applications. If you are a blogger or have many followers you can be an influencer and you can make use of this to promote your company or your products or work. However, you should still be careful that you are able to make a balance between work and personal life and that you are not increasing your stress level because of this.
Social media can either be a “downer” which can make you depressed or an “upper” which can stimulate you and inspire you and help you improve not only your work but also your personal life. Maintain a balance in the use of it and you will have a friendly tool at your fingertips. Be a slave to it, and it can lead to disastrous consequences.
Wilma Miranda is a managing partner of Inventor, Miranda and Associates, CPAs, chairman of the Media Affairs Committee of Finex, member of the board of directors of KPS Outsourcing Inc. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions.