Social Networks – An Addiction
Having wasted most of the morning, and most mornings, staring at Facebook and bringing up-to-date my MySpace, I can admit that social networks are addicting and can waste hours and hours in a day. I can also remember back to when I was working a normal office job and a large part of the day was spent checking who logged in, checking it like it was the stock exchange. Often I get replies from people I haven’t spoken to in years or who I almost don’t remember, in addition to the current circle of contacts who regularly check each other’s profiles as if it was their [job|duty} to do so.
Psychiatrists go as far as saying that these days individuals amplify their own identities through their online profiles. In other words, Facebook and MySpace have turned into an expression of who we really are as people. I venture this is real, as it is a place we decide what people see, and have no problem letting people all around the globe see in order to obtain updates as to who we are and what we are doing. Nevertheless there are those who devote over 30-40 hours on the internet a week on such sites, and they are addicts. People have looked to the internet to substitute other recreational avenues of their lives. Unhappily for many of today’s younger generation, this means a drop in physical pursuits, and for grown-ups it can mean a fall in social interaction with their acquaintances and/or family.
They say opportunity makes the thief,’ but in this situation, ‘social networks inspire the stalker.’ The quantity of information one can access on another person makes it easy to follow their every action. Yes it is that individual, who puts up pictures and approves being tagged in others, as well as making public personal details, but everyone also posts on walls and those messages are [public|open} but may not be pre-approved by the individual before they go up. People quickly get addicted to following someone once they see someone else is writing on their wall, or that they have put up new pictures. Tabbed browsing, email alerts, and mobile applications, all serve the social network addict, making it [easier|more conceivable} for them to constantly be checking their profiles and others’ as well. Experts advise setting time limits, and basically practicing self discipline against constantly checking or receiving email alerts, and not to buy mobile apps for the social networks.