This week, to expand on the question: How can we (18-29 years olds) use social media most effectively? I decided to select some key findings from the Sensis data and conduct further research. 

In particular, I was interested in the negative impacts of social media on productivity and concentration. Considering the current circumstances that see us confined to our home’s for the foreseeable future, retreating to our devices for escapism seems comforting. Yet is in important is doesn’t overwhelm us and hinder productivity, there can be a fine line. I intend to explore this through my campaign and social media prototypes. Although countering this shortcoming or bad influence of the online world, more positively social media is arguably unmatched in its instant capacity for communication – this is a strength I also intend to explore further. The basic premise of this weeks research concluded in three categories of social media impact;

Concentration and Productivity: Social media platforms can become ‘an immense perplexity and efficiency-eater in work performance’ (Hamed, 2017, pg. 243). Indicative of our increasingly online world, British Professor Greenfield (2010) believes the mid-21st century mind might be ‘infantilised, characterised by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky sense of identity.’  

Community, Connection and Conversation: An engaged social media presence consists of substantial communication e.g. between a business and their customers, two people, or a larger community. Communication is seen as a ‘process of convergence (or divergence) in which participants create and share information with one another in order to reach a mutual understanding’ (Rogers, 2003, para 5-6.) Social media platforms provide an extension of this communication.  

Sleep: With typical social media interactions and consumption occurring before bed (43.8% – Sensis data) research shows a negative correlation between this usage and quality/ quantity of sleep. This sleep disruption can include ‘time displacement and blue light exposure from phone screens suppressing melatonin’ (Burke, 2018, para. 6)

Taking on board these negative and positive implications or entanglements of social media use, I intend to create prototypes that promote healthy social media habits and an overall online/ real life balance.

References

Burke, Michael G. (2018). “Social Media and Sleep Duration–there Is a Connection!” Contemporary Pediatrics 35.5: 12. Web.

H. Usrof, Hamed. (2017). “Social Media and Productivity: The Case of Education Sector in Assir Province.” International Journal of Human Resource Studies 7.3: 243. Web.

Kerry O’Brien, Tracy Bowden, Julie Posetti, Gavin Heaton, Sandy Carter, Susan Greenfield, John Birmingham, Robert Tercek, Jess Nichols, and Laurel Papworth (2010). 7.30 Report. Web.

Rogers, E. (2003). The diffusion of innovations (pp. 5–6). New York: Free Press.