How much does social media affect us?

Now a days consumers and suppliers can view products online. Part of someone's product research now involves getting the opinions of friends and peers through social media. In fact, a social media contact may now be the first place some people hear about your product or service. Through social media consumers can voice their opinions and ask for customer service through a message. By doing so this is affecting our interpersonal and communication skills. We are not onlying using social media as a social tool but also as a researching tool. Word of mouth no longer involves face-to-face contact. It has become "send me a link."  So as consumers we are getting into the habit of using social media and resources to get our questions answered and no verbal communication. 

Angeli O'Day
11.29.12

Which Addict are you?

Thanks to Marketo, a marketing software company, we now can categorize nine social media addicts as well as their symptoms. It is quickly to point the finger and call someone else a "Facebook Addict" because they change their status every five minutes, but their are other addicts as well. Social Media sites and this new way of communicating has been affecting lives without the realization of it. Below is a summary of the nine social media addicts and their symptoms.

1. The Alert-Lover: Receives alerts on phone and loses complete focus when phone receives a notification.

2. Social Guru: Claims to know everything about Social Media sites and even illustrates the title on personal business cards.

3. Verb Creator: Constantly stating that you need to upload pictures, make statues and tweet everything someone says.

4. The Vowel Hater: Removing all vowels in order to get the most out of the 140 character limit on Twitter. This incorrect spelling now rolls over into papers, emails, and other important documents.

5. The Blog Referencer: Refuses to answer questions directly because they would rather write an insightful blog and refer people to look their for your answer.

6.The Self-Proclaimed Influencer: Get excited about providing useful information on social media sites.

7. Multi-Mayor: Constantly "checking in" to every restaurant and establishment to become well known there.

8. The Liker: Instead of commenting on status and pictures, the liker simply "likes" post.

9. The Constant Checker: Always checking phone for updates on social media sites without regard of the company you are keeping. This can affect job opportunities because you are checking your phone during interviews or walking into an interview.


 Natalie 11.26.12      

How to Really Know if You're Addicted

How do you really know if you're addicted to the internet?

There's many tests that let you answer questions and they generate how addicted you are based on the answers you chose, all done on the internet, ironic huh?

The real way to know if you're addicted to the internet or media, in a broader sense, is actually disconnecting yourself from it. For someone who's not addicted to the internet, this can seem like a task, but those that are, the idea is daunting. Many people don't like to be separated from media and the internet, but can do it if they have to. Now, if you start hyperventilating, going insane, showing withdrawal symptoms, craving, elevated anxiety, etc., you may be addicted.

What if we all separated ourselves from the internet and media for a day? How peaceful or dreadful would that day be for you?

A University of Maryland study did just that for about 200 students. They had to give up all media for 24 hours. Many of the students realized they were addicted and felt the need to have media.

Let's try it. Let's see if we can go 24 hours without the internet, I won't take it as far as all media for you all. Good luck!

Mariyah Hargrove
11/18/2012

Negative Effects of Internet Usage on Child Development

We have discussed the many types of Internet addiction and several addictive social networking sites, but can the Internet actually negatively effect child development? According to Verdick.org, the answer is yes. Recent studies show that teenagers are much more likely to access the internet for gaming, music downloading, and social networking than their parents. Children, even younger are accessing the Internet in prime physical, mental, and social development ages, and psychologists are becoming concerned about the effects it may have on developing bodies and minds. 

The Impact on Physical Development 
Hands on experiences, crucial to the development of cause and effect relationships and conversation are not present on the internet. The more a child experiences virtual interaction, rather than hands on, real life experiences, the less the child is going to develop these physical skills. Young children benefit from receiving small bits of information, and sorting through the information in a sequential manner. The internet provides vast amounts of information and overloads the mind with too much information at once, not allowing the young mind to process sequentially, and causing fatigue and confusion. 

The Impact on Cognitive Development
Information found on the internet is uncontrolled, and not only is it sometimes lawless, but there is also the risk of it's reliability. Children are unable to test reality in the virtual world, and are therefore unable to distinguish between what is and is not real. Children over using the internet have become accustomed to "text language" which is negatively effecting their formal writing in school. Also, Plagiarism has become increasingly common among internet using school-aged children and teens.

The Impact on Social Development 
Although the internet is an important tool for everyone, and has caused the advancement of just about everything we do in life, the overuse and abuse of the internet can distract from social activities such as homework, chores, and real life relationships with friends and family. Not only can it serve as a distraction, but also can be a very negative influence on social behavior. Pornography, hate messages, profanity, and much more undesirable content is readily available on the Internet, and has become popular among children and teens. Monitoring is strongly advised when allowing young children to access the internet. 

The internet is a positive technology in many ways, and has helped to improve the way we live and learn. These negative effects are only a concern in overusage situations, and can be avoided with regulation, and close monitoring. 

Ashley Rulick
11/18/12
Source: Verdick.org
image courtesy: iamemme.blogspot.com

Severe case of Internet Addiction...

In South Korea, internet addictions were mostly said to appear in teenagers until a married couple took the addiction to the extreme. The South Korean couple met online and even created virtual worlds to interact in. Though, I would think that reality is much better than a virtual world, this couple would spend hours at an Internet Cafe interacting virtually with each other and others. An Internet Cafe is a place where there are a bank of computers for public use. Though this couple had a new born child at home, one night they departed to an Internet Cafe to role-play in a virtual reality for twelve hours and came home to a deceased new born baby.
Though the number of teenager internet addicts have declined dramatically, the opposite has affected the 20-30 age bracket. South Korea is huge on gaming and actually promotes gaming to many countries to use.




Natalie Bobian 11-10-2012

How is Facebook addiction affecting our minds?

Facebook addiction have been documented and is a severe addiction that people cannot stop. Receiving and answering a notification results in a hit of dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter associated with the motivation and reward response in the human brain. Dopamine is also released in high quantities when we consume drugs or have sex. Social media notifications can have the same addictive effect. In Asia “Internet Addiction Disorder” is already accepted as a psychological diagnosis. Next year it will be included in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. Facebook and Internet addiction can have damaging effects, such as a decrease in our attention span. Since 2000, our collective attention span has decreased by 40%. This statistic is very believable because I find myself not paying attention in class and on Twitter or Facebook trying to keep updated. 

Angeli O'Day
Nov. 7. 2012

Nine Ways to Defeat your Twitter Addiction

If you have found that Twitter has become less of an occasional way to connect with others, and more of a compulsion or dependence, you may be addicted to Twitter. Here are Nine Steps to beat your Twitter addiction:

1. Decide whether you are addicted. If you've got one or more of the common warning signs of being addicted to Twitter, you may be in need of a Twitter reality check. These warning signs include:

• Feeling like you're "nothing" without your tweets, and you must tweet no matter what, even if you don't want to. 
• Insignificant things MUST be tweeted. i.e.- "this morning I woke up".
• People without Twitter are losers and not deserving of your time, Twitter is your day, the rest of what could have been your day is arranged around it.
• You MUST find someone else to tweet for you when you are unable.
• When Twitter is down, you are down, and the worst part is you can't even Tweet about it!!
• You have a lot of unfinished projects, yet you are still compelled to Tweet away your time.
• You find yourself unable to stop, even though you (and your peers) know Tweeting is becoming a problem.
• Your relationship with Twitter is growing stronger than the ones in real life

2. Own up to your Twitter addiction. Yes, it's a cliche that half the battle is admitting the problem but not acknowledging it means you won't change the behavior. And before you rush to tweet that you have a Twitter addiction, by all means admit it to yourself but remember that there's no need to tell the world.

• Tweeting about your Twitter addiction is an invitation for others to comment, and make light of the situation. You will get responses like "haha. I'm an addict to", or "We can be addicts together," which will minimize the importance of your realization, and could be a detriment to recovery.

3. Plan your Twitter time. Allow yourself to set an amount of time every day, reserved for Twitter. (i.e.- 15 minutes every three hours, or one single hour every day when you are done with everything else). Set precise Tweeting times (i.e.- 12:00 every day) and stick to the allotted times.

4. Plan for "Pure Twitter Time". Avoid using Twitter while multitasking. When tweeting while multitasking, Twitter becomes a distraction, and a reason to not fully focus on whatever else you are doing. Also, when multitasking, we tend to downplay how much time we are wasting on each task. You could be spending much more time doing nothing productive, but if you have a book open, you are "studying".

5. Fire your Twitter Supporting Cast. Anything you have aquired that makes Twitter easier to access, get rid of it! These include: Tweetie, TwitterBerry, TweetDeck, TwitterFon, PocketTweets, & ceTwit. These applications make it easy to access Twitter from literally anywhere. Get rid of them and you will thrive.

6. Turn Twitter Into a Hobby Not a Habit. Make Twitter your weekend indulgence. You will make more time to get things done during the week and look forward to your weekend only Tweets. This will make you more productive during the week, and help create more creative and interesting Tweet topics for your weekend post. 

7. Spend Time Away from TMI (too much information.) Constantly being bombarded with messages from others can create anxiety, hyperawareness, and worry. You need a little information free time to take the edge off. Spend some quite alone time sitting under a tree, or in a quite place WITHOUT your phone. Gaaaasp!

8. Realize that You are Not Alone. More people are suffering from a Twitter addiction than you think. Be kind to yourself in realizing that others have been here already; the evolution of social networking means that many people continue to keep revising how to balance Twitter in their busy lives. Keep your perspective about Twitter's place in your life at the forefront of your mind and ask yourself...

• What have you given up for Twitter? Was it an inane pursuit like watching too much TV, or something that mattered, like writing, exercise, reflecting, or spending time with people? The answer to this question may help you to find the necessary motivation to take the time and energy to make adjustments.

9. Quit Twitter. If you've tried everything else and Twitter is still coming before the mowed lawn, the descaling of the shower, and the ironing of work clothes, then you might have to switch it off permanently. If you don't know how to leave, here's how:

• Log in to Twitter
• Click "Settings"
• Click "Deactivate my Account" at the bottom of the page
• Enter your password when prompted. (Without the correct account password, you will not be able to deactivate an account.)
• Verify that you really want to do it. If you've come this far, then you do. 
• Have your life back! 

Sources and photo credits (wikihow.com)

Ashley Rulick 11/4/12

How to Find Out if You're Addicted

One of the worst things a doctor can do is to diagnose someone with a condition and that person doesn't even have it. This is the case many times. With this disturbing news, doctors have implemented many tests BEFORE they diagnose anything. Internet addiction is no different. There are various tests you can take to see if you're addicted to the internet. The ones found on the internet aren't as accurate as if a doctor was screening the test, but the give you a little insight. For the fun of it, I too, took the Internet Addiction Test at http://www.netaddiction.com/index.php?option=com_bfquiz&view=onepage&catid=46&Itemid=106.

After receiving my score, I was recorded as an average user, which is the lowest score or means I am not addicted to the internet. Each of your answers have a number that is added at the end of your test and determines your level of addiction. I received a score of 27. Try it out and let us know what's your score!

Mariyah Hargrove

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Is there more than one internet addiction?

The internet is involved in our lives daily. It is hard to escape from the overload of the internet. As users of the internet we become addicted to certain aspects of it. There are a few addictions to the internet such as:
Cybersex Addiction – compulsive use of Internet pornography, adult chat rooms, or adult fantasy role-play sites impacting negatively on real-life intimate relationships.

Cyber-Relationship Addiction – addiction to social networking, chat rooms, and messaging to the point where virtual, online friends become more important than real-life relationships with family and friends.

Net Compulsions – such as compulsive online gaming, gambling, stock trading, or compulsive use of online auction sites such as eBay, often resulting in financial and job-related problems.

Information Overload – compulsive web surfing or database searching, leading to lower work productivity and less social interaction with family and friends.

Computer Addiction – obsessive playing of off-line computer games, such as Solitaire or Minesweeper, or obsessive computer programming.

The most common addiction is cybersex, online gambling, and cyber-relationship addiction.
People create these addictions through unresolved feelings or an overwhelm of emotions. They use the internet to avoid these fillings and fill them with a sense of emotion that is satisfying.
There are several ways a person can break the addiction by going to therapy, group support or even set ground rules to limit your internet browsing. 

Angeli O'Day
10/25/12
helpguide.org

In love with Instagram?

Many cell phone, IPad and even IPod Touch users are obsessed with Instagram. Instagram is an app which allows users to transform pictures using filters and other designs and also share them with other Instagram users. Though it may seem harmless Instagram is also becoming an addiction. Instagram took picture taking to a whole new level.  Not only do users have to be the one with the best picture and it is also important to users who are following them to see their photos.
Here are 25 ways you can tell you may be an addict:

1. A ten minute walk takes you 40, because you can’t not take a picture of that cloud/bird/ park/hobo’s shoe/traffic light/muddy Tesco bag…
2. Where some can’t eat before saying grace, you can’t eat before taking a picture.
3. You can’t wash up your empty plate unless you’ve taken a picture of that too.
4. You fit the scene to the filter you want to use.
5. You culled any friends that don’t use Instagram – how are you going to keep up with them if you can’t follow them?
6. You considered having a child to gain more followers with cute baby pics.
7. You take at least four photos of your feet per week day.
8. You avoid telling people you’re unemployed by listing your occupation as “photoblogger”.
9. You are saving up your dole money to buy Instaglasses.
10. When others take arm length photos it just looks lame. When you take them, its art.
11. You believe that Facebook buying Instagram was the first sign of the apocalypse.
12. You frown upon people who possess real cameras. I mean, why didn’t they just get an iPhone?
13. You have stopped an old woman in the street to take a photo of her as she just looks so… deep, man.
14. You clean your bathroom more than any other room just to make sure those mirror photos are flawless.
15. You bought a dog just to have a willing subject to pose for you.
16. You don’t even like coffee, you just like the way it looks in sepia.
17. You have 14 pairs of novelty sunglasses, solely for photos.
18. Your last relationship ended when you found out they just didn’t “get” your pictures.
19. You can’t believe that no one’s talent spotted you yet.
20. You consider uploading 40 photos a day to be unproductive.
21. You know if you printed your photos on canvas, you could easily sell them for £3,000 each. But who wants to be a sellout?
22. You organize InstaMeets on a weekly basis.
23. You follow more than 700 Instagrammers, but only to prove that your photos are better than theirs.
24. You spend a good 30 minutes rearranging your food/desk/friends/family to get the perfect set up.
25. You have got into a fight over taking a photo of someone without asking.

Natalie Bobian

10/22/2012

Exploiting Internet Addiction?

Companies are profit driven. Today, all companies want that "next big thing" to generate money. So how do they go about that? In this Internet Age, an increasing number of companies live by the idea, "create an obsession, then exploit it." Gaming companies openly talk about the "compulsion loop." This idea is as followed: Gamer plays the game, gamer achieves goal, gamer is rewarded new content, then gamer wants to get more content so they enter the loop again.

When you're rewarded or accomplish a goal, you excite your neurons and they release dopamine. This makes the experience pleasurable and some people become obsessed. This also describes why some people get very angry when they lose or don't accomplish a goal. 

The release of dopamine causes the basis for addiction. In the past, people create barriers to detour unhealthy obsessions. It's hard to put a physical barrier in between the user and the internet which makes this addiction a little harder to combat. You have to recognize our virtual environment has real consequences and work towards recovering from the obsession.

Mariyah Hargrove

Sat. 10/20/12

pINTERESTING

According to Wikopedia, Pinterest is "a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own collections or 'like' photos. Pinterest's mission is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting" via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing." 

Nine months after it's launch in 2010, Pinterest had 10,000 users, and less than a year later the site was named  one of the top 10 largest social networking services according to Hitewise data. Pinterest was named one of the "50 best websites of 2011" by Time Magazine just over a year after it's launch. From September 2011 to February 2012 the monthly unique visitors to the Pinterest site grew over 866% from 1.68 million to 16.23 million.

Why is Pinterest so interesting?

The simple, non distracting design layout of the site allows for easy scrolling through lots of content with minimal effort. The site is based mostly on images, with a sleek, icon-free appearance with minimal comments. Pinterest allows us to embrace our inner-hoarder while keeping ideas neat and organized. Keep hundreds of recipes, plan a wedding, collect art, and virtually decorate your house all in a neat, categorized manner. Pinterest also gives us a refuge from the facebook/twitter world of relationship statuses, gossip, and complaining. The "pin-it" browser plug in provides a button on your toolbar so that you can pin images to your account from any website you are on. This enhances accessibility by allowing you to post content to the site without actually accessing the Pinterest site. With step-by-step instructions for DIY projects, links to recipes, and much more, Pinterest brings out your creativity and makes you feel like you can DIY just about anything. Most importantly, in my opinion, Pinterest removes the need to search several sites for related products or ideas, and places all of these similar interests in one organized, easy to use site. 

Because of it's ease of use and uncomplicated design, Pinterest can definitely be addicting. Whether you have five minutes or two hours, you are sure to find something worth pinning. I must warn you though, once you start, it's almost impossible to stop. Happy pinning!

Ashley Rulick 10/16/2012

images courtesy of pinterest.com, digitaltrends.com/ sources: wikopedia, pinterest

Social Media Taking Over?

Social media is being used everyday for personal use, advertising and promoting. People are always connected by personal devices such as iPads, smartphones and laptops to networking websites. Mass Relevance constructed the statistics and presented us with these facts:

• 50% of Facebook’s 750 million active users log on in any given day
• 30+ billion pieces of content shared each month within Facebook
• 500+ tweets per minute contain a @YouTube link
• 100 million active Twitter users and 55% access the platform via their mobile

This shows me that people are addicted to social networking sites due to the accessibility and a larger number people are using it creating all there popularity. Due to an increase more websites are expanding their services and creating a social networking segment, companies such as Bing and Google. 

Angeli O'Day

10/14/12

Obesity linked to Internet Obsessions

"The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008," states the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity and overweight youth is a result of inactivity due to TV and internet obsessions. Instead of playing outside or eating healthier, children are glued to their computers and other electronic devices and snacking. Marketers not use social media websites and other internet pages to advertise these unhealthy foods.
A study done by The Chinese University of Hong Kong found that "heavy" internet users were most likely to develop health issues, such as obesity, depression and sleeping issues. These "heavy" addicts, were also less likely to engage in hygiene routines. The extensive use of drugs and alcohol also increase in those who are "heavy" internet addicts. 
It is easy to fall into the trap of being a heavy internet addict because, not only it the internet available everywhere, but it necessary to use. Using the the web can become a problem, when sleeping habits are changing, eating habits are become worse, and focus on the outside world has become blurred. 



10/10
Natalie Bobian

Social Media and Teen Substance Abuse

Recent studies have linked social media to increased risk of teen drug abuse. According to reuters.com, teen social networkers are "five times more likely to use tobacco, three times more likely to use alcohol, and twice as likely to use marijuana" than non social networking teens. Laid back Internet attitudes and advertising glorifying teen misbehavior are said to be the root of the problem. Often teens post comments, blogs, pictures, and videos of themselves or other teens drunk, passed out, or using drugs on social networking sites. This increases teens ability to get access to drugs and alcohol, as well as their desire to try substances in the future. Nearly 40% of parents admit to not monitoring their teens social networking. Some have gone as far as calling this "electronic child abuse". (reuters.com)

image courtesy thefix.com

Social networking has also been said to negatively effect the recovery of teen substance abusers. These same online drug-related cues that can be held responsible for teens trying drugs and alcohol can also be held accountable for relapse of recovering teen substance abusers. In a study by David Tran of UCLA, 66% of recovering teen substance abusers said that social networking sites made them want to use again, while only 22% said that they used social media to positively promote recovery. Tran believes that this is a huge missed opportunity for teens to have a positive impact on other adolescents through social media interaction. A Facebook group for positive social support for teens is in the works.  Tran hopes to increase the teens' feelings of efficacy and decrease the number of contacts promoting drug and alcohol abuse. (psychiatrictimes.com)

Ashley Rulick 10/4/12

Internet Addiction, New Mental Health disorder?

   Is internet addiction such a huge problem that it may be considered a mental health disorder? Well, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-V), internet addiction (formerly Internet Use Disorder [IUD]) may soon be added to the list. Authors are saying it needs more studies conducted to be classified as a real mental disorder.

   Do you have any of the symptoms?

• Do you experience "preoccupation" with the internet or internet gaming?
• Do you experience withdrawal symptoms when the substance (internet) is no longer available?
• Is your body building tolerance (need to spend more and more tine on the internet to achieve the same "high")?
• Do you experience a loss of other interests?
• Have you had unsuccessful attempts to quit?
• Do you use the internet to improve or escape a anxious or depressing mood?

   Research has shown that those addicted to internet use have changes in their brain in the connections between cells and in the areas that control attention, executive control and emotion processing. Many of these changes are like the changes you see when someone is addicted to cocaine, heroine and other substances. There are extremes to the disorder, from killing because the desired object was taken away to constantly checking emails for work and being a good employee. 

   This may be hard to treat because you can't quit the internet altogether, yet, you have to learn to manage your time using the world wide web. Researchers have found the only treatment, as of now, is cognitive behavior therapy. This psychotherapy teaches people how to replace the unhealthy thoughts and behavior patterns with new, healthier, more productive ones. 

Questions: Does your internet usage affect your lifestyle negatively? How do you feel about Internet Addiction becoming a mental health disorder?

Mariyah Hargrove, 10/3

Facebook and Twitter Addiction

I recent study conducted by the University of Chicago's Business School, found that social media websites are more addicting than cigarettes and alcohol! Though the urge to check your email or Facebook page does not overcome sleep and leisure, the study shows that these social media "urges" to over power alcohol or tobacco urges.
Facebook and Twitter are low cost and readily available services, which cause the addiction and urge to be even more irresistible. On the other hand, cigarettes and alcohol consumption can be extremely costly and the loss can far outweigh the benefits.

By: Natalie Bobian
9/24/2012

Facebook Addiction Disorder

Facebook is one of the top most used social networking site in the United States. Due to its popularity it has created an addiction and now a disorder. An American psychologist introduced this disorder as the Facebook Addiction Disorder also known as FAD. It is a condition where several hours are spent on Facebook where it affects one's health and daily activity. Approximately 350 million people are suffering from this disorder. There are six major symptoms that are classified with FAD. 

1. Tolerance: They spend an increasing amount of time on the site, coming to a stage where they need it in order to obtain satisfaction or on the other extreme, it is having a detrimental affect on them as a person and their life.
2. Withdrawal symptoms: Common signs are anxiety, distress and the need to talk about Facebook and what might have been posted on their wall in their absence.
3. Reduction of normal social/recreational activities: Someone suffering from FAD will reduce the time spent catching up with friends, playing sport or whatever it is they used to enjoy doing, to simply spend time on Facebook. 
4. Virtual dates: Instead of going to the movies or out to dinner, they tell their partner to be online at a certain time.
5. Fake friends: If 8 out of 10 people shown on their Facebook page are complete strangers.
6. Complete addiction: When they meet new people, they say their name, followed by “I’ll talk to you on Facebook”, or for those who are extremely bad, “I’ll see you in Facebook”. 

These are all symptoms that relate to FAD and are used to diagnose a person with FAD and it is considered a mental disorder. 

Angeli O'Day

9/20/12

[Source: Social Times]

Internet Addiction

Internet addiction is a growing epidemic all around the world. According to techaddiction.com, 9-15 million people in the U.S. use the internet every day. This rate is increasing by 25% every 3 months. Internet addiction is most common in adolescent boys and has been linked to ADHD. The overwhelming majority of counselors agree that internet addiction disorder is a very real disorder. In addition to the psychological, physiological, social, and mental health problems associated with Internet Addiction, children and teenagers who spend an excessive amount of time online are not exercising their minds and bodies at such an important time in their lives, when they should be engaging in sports and other physical activities with their peers.

image courtesy: businessnewsdaily.com

Symptoms of Internet Addiction Include:

• Failed attempts to control behavior

• Heightened sense of euphoria while involved in computer and Internet activities

• Neglecting friends and family

• Neglecting sleep to stay online

• Being dishonest with others

• Feeling guilty, ashamed, anxious, or depressed as a result of online behavior

• Physical changes such as weight gain or loss, backaches, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome 

• Withdrawing from other pleasurable activities

Take this test to find out if you are addicted to the internet

[Resources: Safetyweb.com, netaddiction.com, techaddiction.com]

Ashley Rulick 9/19/12

Addiction while Working

When most people are bored at work, they'll partake in some social networking. Some businesses allow this IF the employee is using social networks to benefit the company, such as using company Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, etc. With internet and social network addiction growing, how are companies keeping it out of the workplace?

According to Daniel Ornstein's study, over a quarter of the employees surveyed actively block employee access to social networking sites. Nearly 40 percent of the businesses in the survey have had to deal with employees misusing social networks, a third had to take disciplinary action against employees due to misuse of social networks and despite the widespread use and misuse of social networking at work, about half of the companies in his survey still do not have social networking policies.

Social networking and internet addiction continues to rise to the point where people feel the need to constantly be attached. How should employees be deciplined or should employers block all access to such networks? If employers block social networks on the computer, will this increase cell phone use at the workplace?

Mariyah Hargrove
Sunday, September 16, 2012

Addicted to Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, all of these social networking sites have millions of users with many joining daily. Not only can we access these networking sites by computer but now by phone, so we are able to connect from anywhere. These website are not only a place to connect with friends, family and celebrities but also to stay up-to-date with current news. With IPhones, Droids, and other cellular devices permanently attached to our hands, being able to connect to these social networking sites, connects us to the world. The fear of missing out on current world news, our best friends status, or who is in a relationship with who, is one of the reasons for the addiction of social media sites. Can we truly step away from the use of these websites and still feel connected to the world?






9/10/2012

Natalie B.

Social Media Addiction

image courtesy of socialmediagroup.com

Keeping up with social media is of the upmost importance to our generation. As more and more social media sites are created, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with our posts about what we had for breakfast, or who we are "pissed at". What are your friends doing today? You don't have to call to find out, because chances are they have tweeted about it, updated their status, posted a picture, or checked in on four-square. Is this a problem? Are we losing our ability to interact face to face because it's just "easier" to check Facebook? Check out this video on social media addiction.

Ashley Rulick 9-7-12

Social Networking & Internet Addiction

Hello,

In today's world there are over 200 social networking sites and the main ones being Facebook and Twitter. These social networking sites have been very popular over the years and maybe even addicting according to the CBS News National Correspondent, Hattie Kauffman. Research shows that over 300,000 people join Myspace each day. Psychiatrist Dr. Jerald Block treats patients who use the Internet more than 30 or 40 hours a week and says that there over millions of internet addicts. I personally easily believe that statement because whenever one is doing homework or any assignment there's most likely Twitter or Facebook in an another tab. There are a few ways to avoid this addiction or lessen it, by turning off your notifications being sent to your phone, setting time limits and avoid applications on smartphones.

Angeli O'Day

9-6-12

Welcome

Welcome to our INFO3130 blog! This blog was created and contributed to by Ashley Rulick, Mariyah Hargrove, Angeli O'Day, and Natalie Bobian. We will be posting weekly on our IT use/ emerging technology topic. Thanks for reading!