Social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are currently absorbing more of America’s free time than any other past-time. The growing popularity of these websites among nearly every represented age group raises a very important question. At what point will we decide that there are better ways to spend our time than in front of our computers?
How much is too much social media? The answer to that question depends, according to the person answering the question. Celebrities and athletes are often presented with social media contracts! Yes, they actually have a contract detailing exactly what they can and cannot put on these sites and sometimes who they can add to their friends list. Entire companies have been built around these contracts and the concern about socially responsible participation in social media websites.
Many universities are working with marketing experts to set limits for their students or to simply put together a list of guidelines that are recommended. Some of the recommendations are to always keep individual profiles private and to stay away from joining groups or posting photos that are at all questionable. The quick recommendation is to ask if you could print out your profile and safely take it to a job interview. If not, then it’s probably a good idea to change how you use social media.
Reputation is not the only concern expressed about people spending excessive amounts of time on social media websites. Students who spent more than a few minutes a day participating in social media websites tend to drop their grades by one full letter grade. Conversely, there are studies that demonstrate the fact that social media participation can actually be beneficial for teenagers and young adults.
Parents often complain that their teens are developing entirely virtual social lives. But, it is not just teens. People of every age are spending more and more time checking Facebook and updating their status. In general, if a person is spending more than an hour or two on a social media site, they should begin to wonder if they are foregoing other important activities.
There are studies on both sides of the fence. Some psychologists recommend strictly limiting the number of hours children spend in front of the computer each week. Conversely, many kids are now required to use the internet for research projects and assembling other school work. If parents adhere to the recommendations, some kids would be unable to even complete their schoolwork.
Speaking of school work, some teens and college students are using social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to form virtual study groups and work collaboratively when necessary. This could result in many hours of time spend on social media websites.
What all of these situations and study results are telling us, is that there really is no definitive answer to the question, how much is too much? Instead, there is a long list of situations where the rules and recommendations apply and a longer list of when they don’t.
