Debate Over Social Media at Work Intensified by Study

COMMENTARY | An article on U.S. News discussed a Cisco study finding that 56 percent of twentysomethings would refuse to work in a job denying them access to social media or would attempt to “sidestep” the rule. One in three ranked social media access on the job as more important than salary. Proponents of social media access insist most jobs need social media and access to such websites enhances creativity and helps workers recharge during breaks.

Critics assert social media access limits employee productivity.

As a high school teacher who watches students regularly try to access social media instead of taking notes that will allow them to pass tests, I must side with the critics. Social media on the job is bad news. It is addictive and will, without a doubt, limit productivity.

An ITWorld article says a survey by market research firm uSamp confirms social media decreases worker productivity, costing companies millions of dollars per year. This I can confirm personally as I constantly notice students lagging on notes and classwork, distracted by the glowing screens of their pocketed smartphones. Whenever I grouse that their obsession with Facebook and texting is ruining their academic performance they reply that it “helps” them.

The teens insist that, once they check their messages, status comments or wall posts, they can better focus on their work. They also claim that, as long as they get their work done, they should be able to use their phones as long as they aren’t distracting anyone else. What is perhaps most alarming is that the teenagers may actually believe what they are saying.

A McClatchy News Tribune article discusses a survey that reveals an age gap in opinion over the merits of social networking: While 53 percent found social networking to be harmful to young people, only 47 percent of young people thought the same.

An interesting article in the New York Times reports teenagers desire smartphones to cars, with 46 percent of those ages 18 to 24 preferring Internet access to having their own automobile. Only 15 percent of baby boomers felt the same, further highlighting a big generation gap when it comes to approving of online social media.

Part of the difference might come from the social media saturation of today’s younger generation: With so many Internet-savvy smart phones floating around, many teens and young adults are never separated from social media.

Even people as young as myself, still a relative spring chicken at 26, made it into college before the dawn of Facebook. We remember days unplugged from texting and status updates. I didn’t send my first text until around my 23rd birthday.

With so many youth having been brought up with Internet and cellphone saturation to the point that it is viewed as more important than vehicle ownership (yesteryear’s rite of passage for independence), it is unsurprising that they would blanch at the possibility of having to give some of it up during their working hours.

Just because something is predictable doesn’t make it acceptable. Should business owners, many of them the same ones who gave their own teens and tweens smartphones in the first place, demand that tech-raised twentysomethings log off of social media at work? Or should the younger generation recognize and respect the divide between work and play?

My own hand is forced. My employer blocks Facebook.


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *