Social Media Addiction

Think people check Facebook ad Twitter too often? It's probably even more than you think. A recent study polled 1000 Americans about their social media habits and had some interesting results. We'd love to say that the results shocked us but that would be lying and George Washington would be sad. The truth is people are checking social networks around the clock and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon. Here are some highlights:

Do you check Facebook or Twitter after you go to bed?

• Yes - 48%
• No - 52%

Do you check Facebook or Twitter first thing in the morning?

• Yes - 42%
• No - 48%

How long can you go without checking Facebook? (Age: under/over 25)

• Couple of hours - 18% / 11%
• Few times per day - 20% / 15%
• Once per day - 23% / 29%
• Long time - 40% / 46%

Predictably, participants under the age of 25 were more likely to answer "Yes". Owning an iPhone increased the odds even further still, often by 10% or more. Another question revealed almost half of those under 25 don't mind interrupting their meals to answer an electronic message. That's something we'd agree with just from observing others.

How many of you in the therapy world are using these tools? Drop us a comment below and let us know.

For the full article head over to Retrevo

Comments

[Jess]

Brad-

I've had a post in the works regarding this for several months now. Great job! I know this is a problem and will only get worse with time. A couple of great books have inspired a lot of people to put the extra time beyond their work hours to become online brands. I think it is great but unfortunately therapy is still a hands on profession - we don't have time in our 8 hr day to tweet, unless you are in management.

I have told myself to go on "Diets" from social media. This blog may inspire me to:)

Thanks for the great blog!

[Brad Hogenmiller]

Jess-

I agree. You may not know this (writing a post about it now) but I'm not a therapist. Surprise! :) I educate/train people in new media, build communities and help people use social media tools to develop themselves professionally. I come from a background working with marketing and IT types that sit in front of computers and iPhones all day. It's quite a different story with medical professionals.

I talk to groups about this pretty frequently (I'll post one of my slide decks this afternoon) so here's my professional opinion: Time block 30 minutes a day towards not just building your online brand (useful for private practice therapists... not as necessary for public ones), but building your network. Regardless of your profession, using tools like blogs, facebook, twitter & linkedin to connect with others and build your network will make you a more informed, more valuable person. This is something I notice is severly lacking in the therapy world... especially in specific locations. That's really where SPOTonChicago (expanding to more metros soon... more on that later) fits in. The more we can connect and talk about what matters in the therapy community, the better therapists everyone can become.

(I'm actually setting up a Twitter chat night for therapists later this week... this is a perfect topic for it so thanks!)

-Brad (@SPOTonChicago)