Social Networking a Boon or a Apocalypse?

Before we start off to something, do you know the number of SOCIAL NETWORKING (profiles or countries apparently,  facebook being almost enormous as a country :) ) ?Or hey, how many friends do you have on your facebook page and was the last hour you didn't Tweet? Here are a certain few questions you could crack your brains on...

There was a time during the 90's when internet addiction had begun to the stage where we stand now the so called SOCIAL NETWORKING ERA, wherein the first thing you wake up in the morning you pick your phone, and put a Tweet or update your facebook page saying GOOD MORNING!and there is the poor alarm still trying to wake you up :) and the day has just begun.........

The list of your ever growing virtual friends never comes to an end until you loose your counting, with the increase in the number of new social networking business, the more you find yourself switching between your windows on your desktop or your laptop?There have been a list of social networking suicides, extortions sexual harassments, the list seems to be never ending which seems to be increasing with more news for the newspapers and the magazines.

This addiction more of like the Drug addiction needs a rehabilitation centre or has to have a cure within itself?
     

Here are a few tips that can help you monitor your social network use, and ensure that you are being productive instead of wasting time.

• Track Your Time Online – The simplest way to ensure you aren’t wasting time in any one place is to monitor your time.  Use a stopwatch and set a limit.  When time is up, log out, regardless of what’s left.  There is always tomorrow.
• Remember the Telephone -  I know, it’s so primitive.  But a call to a friend works just as well as a Facebook message, and it is real human interaction, something we are losing touch with.
• Go Outside – get away from your portal to the network.  Get some sunshine, chances are you need it.
• Limit Your Memberships – There is no need for memberships to 15 different networks.  In fact, there is no need for even 2 memberships of sites which do the same thing.  Choose Facebook or Myspace, but not both.  Digg, or StumbleUpon.  This will probably cut your memberships in half, and hopefully cut the time spent on them down also.
• Use Your Networks Productively – When I first used twitter I followed anyone, and had thousands of followers.  Strangely though, people rarely responded to my twits, and it was like I was invisible.  I decided I’d only use twitter if I could be productive with it, so I unfollowed thousands of users (now below 200),  and use Twitter only to share and interact with people with similar interests as mine.  Now my Twitter is a tool, not a time warp.
• Prioritize - Use these tools only when your work has been done, or during down time.  Don’t spend time updating your profile or changing your pic when there is work to be done.  This will not only save you time and increase productivity, but will build self discipline as well.
• Stop Procrastinating – Many times we get on Facebook or twitter when we have real work that we just don’t want to do.  Stop that!  Get the work done.  Once you finish you’ll have all the time in the world to spend making friends on Facebook.
• Remove the Cellphone Apps – You don’t really need Facebook or Twitter on your phone.  Nothing on there can be that important.  Save your social networking for when you are behind the desk and limit the distractions throughout the day.
• Spend More Time With Close Friends and Family – You aren’t the only one who suffers when you spend countless hours on MySpace.  Your family and friends don’t see you, because you are too busy learning how to customize your backgrounds and take crazy pictures from all different angles for your profile pic.  Cut out the cancer and get back to friends and family.

Like they say, "Three and four is a group, the rest is all crowd !"

So the best cure for the so called SOCIAL NETWORKING CANCER is get back to your group where they still need you !