1. Does social media connect or distract us from what really matters?

A new study showed that almost half of students were distracted by the use of electronics
in class, such as computers or tablets, for non-educational reasons, while others surveyed
assume that electronics is inevitable in the classroom.

The research was published and surveyed 478 students and 36 professors at the
University of Waterloo in the Canadian Journal for the Scholarship in Teaching and
Learning.

Of the undergrad students surveyed, 49 percent said they were distracted by the use of
technology for purposes not relevant to class, or by 'off-task' use. Students usually
claimed, however, that they used technologies irrespective of off-task reasons.

Mintel's new Irish social networking study shows that the majority of customers agree
that taking time away from social networking sites on a regular basis is necessary (89% in
Northern Ireland and 85% in the Republic of Ireland). Indeed, according to the Institute
of Practitioners of Advertisement (September 2017), social networking is one of the most
common online practises and customers in the UK spent approximately three hours a day
using these sites in 2017.

This means 21 hours a week, 84 hours a month, 1,008 hours a year. The use of social
networking sites to bring this into perspective accounted for an eighth of the time for UK
customers in 2017. It is no surprise that it is perceived that social networks are a diversion
from everyday life.

So, what makes consumers on social networking sites waste so much time?

Communicating with family and friends? Meeting new individuals? New Content
Discovery? A feeling of belonging to a group? As clients will have several different
explanations, it's probably a mix of all of the above. There is also an argument that, as
they employ strategies to keep consumers active, these sites are getting more addictive.
Snapchat's Snapstreaks functionality offers an example of this. This tells users how they
have submitted a photo to their mates so several days in a row. A streak comes to an end
when, after 24 hours, users have not posted a photo message to their friends.
The app rewards the maintenance of a Snapstreak, and users thus do not want to end their
run. In reality, there is a psychological factor to this, as appreciation of their success will
cause the release of happy hormones inside the brains of users, facilitating greater use. In
the meantime, study by US psychologist Dr. Eva Ritvo showed that the production of
dopamine literally results in 'likes' for Facebook messages. It is this 'high' that has
contributed to calls to view social media as an epidemic.

Even though liquor, tobacco, betting and nicotine are most frequently linked with
addiction, the survey states that it is possible to be addicted to the use of the internet and
its related technology, such as social media. Indeed, a fifth of the customers believe that
their lives have been adversely affected by social media.

What should be said to promote the use of social media to be healthy and
productive?

By taking the satirical approach of the football management game Championship Boss,
which used a 'addictiveness ranking' that told users how many hours they have been
playing and to 'take a shower' and 'remember to feed the cat', social networking sites
might look and take action and allow users to take breaks in usage. Gentle prompts and
incentives for taking a break will help foster safe social media use and put these sites as
having a beneficial role in the lives of consumers.