We Are Connected, But They Call It Addiction

Retrevo published some interesting statistics from a study on social media use, but unfortunately refer to those who are most connected as being ‘addicted’. The data [via email] and the story:

Study Highlights:

Twitter & FaceBook:
- 48% of people check/update FaceBook and/or Twitter after they go to bed

- 18% of people under 25 years old can’t go more than a couple hours without checking in on FaceBook

- 61% of people under 25 have to check in on FaceBook at least once a day

- 11% of people over 25 years old can’t go more than a couple hours without checking in on FaceBook

- 55% of people over 25 have to check in on FaceBook at least once a day

- 16% of people under 25 years old rely on Twitter and/or FaceBook for the morning “news”

iPhone Users:
- 28% of iPhone users check/update Twitter before they get out of bed

- 26% of iPhone users check/update Twitter before they turn on their TV

- 23% of iPhone users rely on Twitter for their morning news

Electronic Messages:
- 11% of people under 25 years old can be interrupted by an electronic message during sex (The number drops to 6% of people over 25 years old)

- 24% of people under 25 can be interrupted by an electronic message while in the bathroom. (This number drops to 12% of people over age 25)

- 49% of people under 25 years old can be interrupted by an electronic message during a meal. (27% for people over 25 years of age)

- 22% of people under 25 years old can be interrupted by an electronic message during a meeting. (11% of people over 25 years of age)

So, the presumption is that we shouldn’t do these things, and by doing them we are participating in a pattern of behavior that is immoral, immature, or at best questionable. This is, once again, the War On Flow, where various arbiters of public morality will point their fingers and call us names.

And here you can see how they lump together the examples which are titillating or disgusting, or supposedly unacceptable in the business context. What about the percentage of people that will respond to a text message while waiting in line at the Subway? That interruption is acceptable, but you are NOT supposed to take the message while eating your Subway?

There is an implicit etiquette going on here: one that is left unsaid. We are supposed to already know which of these contexts are ‘correct’ for responding to a text message, or how often and in what context we are supposed to be in to check Twitter. I guess it is verboten to check Twitter in bed, and especially while having sex.

I am completely opposed to this sanctimonious, pseudo-moralistic mumbo jumbo.

They will consistently devalue the actions that keep us connected — taking the text message, responding to the tweets — and they rate our behavior based on the context we are in when the message is responded to, but not the level of our connection with the person at the other end of the relationship. It’s all form and no substance.