Social media addictions can have very real implications

I was recently making a purchase at a retail store and had a moment that made me shake my head with frustration and awe. The employee was pleasant in asking me if I had found everything that I was looking for, but as she was about to ring my purchase through, she was distracted by her phone which had lit up as it sat next to the till. Instead of ignoring her phone, she ignored me, and even though it was probably only 10 seconds, the “old man” in me had a “tsk-tsk” moment.

Now what if that employee decided to take a break from her time tending to a customer to take a swig of a beer or to scratch a lottery ticket? These actions would possibly lead to an immediate dismissal or at the very least an intervention that would help the employee deal with addictions. Research is telling us that social media addiction is very real and it may be affecting job performance similar to other addictions.

Over 60 percent of adults check Facebook every day, and those who have a smartphone and a Facebook account, check it on average up to 14 times per day. This is an average, which means there are some that likely check Facebook many more times than that. For Facebook users, 1 in every 7 minutes is spent on this social media platform.

Psychologically, smartphone addiction is categorized similarly to compulsive gambling with overlapping characteristics such as social withdrawal, mood changes, lack of control and the amount of time spent on the activity. There are many issues surrounding social media addiction relating to work and family matters that should not be taken lightly. As a small business employer, myself, work productivity is important. If I had employees neglecting work duties on average of once every 7 minutes, I would take great concern.

Aside from productivity issues, what about the social repercussions? Social media addiction is associated with burnout. Burnout is a real psychophysiological problem that not only affects work production but also leads to fatigue, lack of motivation, cynicism, anxiety and depression.

For those of us who have smart phones (and that means nearly all of us), taking an honest account of our social media habits is important in identifying an existing problem or a problem in its early stages. Is your social media usage affecting work or studying performance? Do you think about social media even when you are not on your phone? Do you use social media as a way to escape from stresses in life, to forget, temporarily, about other things? Being “old school”, the thought of an employee shirking work responsibilities because of Facebook makes me reflexively want to fire them on the spot. However, in today’s work environment we have a duty first to find employees the help they need to deal with any addiction, and that may very well include social media addiction.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.