I recently attended a conference where Ray Keller was speaking. He made a very interesting observation: everywhere he goes, be it a meeting or a seminar, people are always busy on their phone with every minute that passes.
This made me think that social media has taken over our lives. Most people have a fear of missing out (FOMO). Social media has become so addictive. Whether we are in business meetings or conferences we always have to check our Facebook, Twitter, BBM, email, etc. As technology enables us to stay more connected than ever, the addiction continues to grow.
So many of us have multiple email and social network accounts. Using a phone like Blackberry where all your notifications pop up on your screen, it’s hard to resist not checking what’s been said on the subscribed social networks. Because people are suffering from FOMO, they are most likely to check every time their phone vibrates indicating there is latest post by their Facebook friend or Twitter handle they are following.
According to a survey by MyLife.com, 56% of people suffer from FOMO relating to events, news or status updates. 26% said they would rather swap bad habits such as smoking cigarettes or TV for access to social networking sites! See the related infographic below:
As much as social media grow, it’s important to stay in touch but at the same time strike a balance. Ask yourself how important is it to be on every social platforms. With businesses, it may be that you are trying to get closer to your customers. The web stores everything, so the information will always be there.
