Social Media allows us to keep in touch with old friends, post favorite photos or jokes, interact or collaborate with many people and possible build your self-esteem? Do you count how many friends you have on Facebook or get excited when someone likes your photo you posted or status you shared? Texting and status updates allow us to be more involved in the lives of others than before. Social Media also opens the door to many potential problems such as inappropriate posts, wasting time, cyber bullying and even the equivalent to opening up your home to strangers.
There are so many articles about the risk to children using social media, but every day I view adults that are falling into the same risk category. How many of you take your smart phones to bed, or sneak on during work time or even obsess with other people’s post? I often get upset when I am trying to reach my children and they are not answering me back. Never, have I seen my children put their phone away or too busy not to notice they have a new message. I must admit that I am definitely addicted to my smart phone. I use my phone for every part of my personal and business life and I would be lost without it. Not only children but many adults also post they have bought a new toy or vehicle, or they are away on vacation, or even posting inappropriate photos of your friends on Facebook, inviting disaster.
I think not only children but adults need to be reminded about the serious threats that social media can cause personally and to their professional future. I enjoyed reading this article and shared it with my children on future risks to their professional future. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-garst/social-media_b_3431394.html We often criticize our children but do not realize we may be falling into the same category? Marketers are certainly benefiting from our use with Social Media. I have read a good article on being addictive to social media, please read when you have time. http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/why-social-media-is-so-addictive-and-why-marketers-should-care-022276.php
I feel that our emotional attraction appears to be tied to having an audience more than connecting socially. Have you analyzed if you are addicted to Social Media?
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 
A great post with a very provocative call out. There are definitely times where I used social media the same way I use the refrigerator – I keep peeking in, hoping something new is there to alleviate my boredom. When I’m busy or engaged in other things, I can go for a whole day or more (vacation!) without checking social media. I suppose that makes me entirely self-serving and self-centred but perhaps not addicted.
Enjoyed reading your post – reflective and real. We do indeed need to become aware that we do not practice what we preach to our kids. I find it fascinating that 20 years ago, MediaSmarts raised awareness about being more vigilant about the use of the Internet. This organization’s focus started on communicating Internet literacy to children, teens and adults in homes, schools and communities. Since then, their scope has broadened to provide information and and tools to help their audience develop critical thinking skills for digital and social media. I doubt that 20 years ago, we realized that we could be heading to addiction with so many social media platforms. We only fixed on the Internet. I applaud the work that organizations like MediaSmarts are doing, yet more needs to be done. As a parent, aunt, uncle, older cousin or grandparent, we need to do more than lead by example with their use of social media. Adults need to also make the effort to be aware of the consequences of inappropriate use of social media – beyond the do’s and dont’s. Let’s face it, our actions and advice to kids is based on what know is happening in social media sphere – and that is a moving target. Being an adult nowadays comes with new tasks within the responsibility of protecting younger people, whether you are a parent, aunt, uncle, older cousin or grandparent. And as adults we also need to remember that we are watched more than ever, as privacy is not what t used to be in our social media world.