We've truly reached a new level of technological time wasting, and it's called Facebook. Talk about a study in procrastination!
So, study it we are. Jena Roy has begun this research with me at Carleton University. She conducted 3 studies for her honours thesis project this year. The first was a study of students' use of computer labs (no surprises here, lots of procrastination with Facebook). The second was a qualitative study involving interviews with students who use Facebook (we're trying to see Facebook through the eyes and words of the users). The third study was a questionnaire-based study exploring possible personality correlates of Facebook procrastination. We're still making sense of the data from the third study.
My focus for this entry is Study 2 - the interviews. For now, all I want to do is share some quotes from the interview participants as captured in Jena's thesis. Read them and post your comments about Facebook and procrastination.
Interview Quotes Below
"I think it is a really big problem for me because I set aside time for a break period and it seems to get extended because of Facebook. I'll take a break and get absorbed into it, so my 15 minute break turns into an hour gone by and that is where it becomes a problem. Time flies on the Internet and it is not a cognitive process. I don't think about it."
"At first with Facebook you can spend hours on it, but eventually you really know that you are wasting your time. It is a real problem if you don't."
"I don't really have any desire or urge to use it now, it was more fun when I was procrastinating. I don't feel a need to go on the Internet when I am not procrastinating."
"You see a lot more people on Facebook during exams since they are already at the computer and it is easy to access and procrastinate."
"Facebook definitely interferes with my school work. If I see that there is a party planned I will look who is going and who had responded. And if someone has written on my girlfriend's wall, I will go and check those people out."
"It's all about whoever has the most wall posts, some people have over 2000 wall posts. They talk about things that are not important and that doesn't need to be said on there, but it makes them look like they have a life."
"I won't give up social opportunities to use Facebook, but I will have cravings and urges to check it after a night out, like an addiction. I have even taken time away from hanging out with people to go check my account, and it is always in the back of my mind."
"I know people who have had to get their roommate to delete their profile for them because they were so addicted that they could not get any studying done. Some times I think people just say they are addicted to Facebook to seem cool and get attention, it is a ridiculous thing to be addicted to."
So . . . what's going on with Facebook and procrastination? Is it just something to use when you're procrastinating (as noted by one interviewee above), or is it a procrastination-trap, a slate of tools destined to get you addicted as reflected in the final couple of quotes? Your thoughts would be very much appreciated!
procrastinating?
Awesome blog. I think that facebook does distract us from more important tasks in life but I wonder if it is because we intentionally don't want to perform those undertakings. My question is this - are we looking at procrastination or do some people really want to tackle tasks but are drawn to facebook out of addiction (as you pointed out)?
Or alternatively is this a new form a social acceptance or even competition? Perhaps the reasons are tailored to each individual.
Hi, I think Facebook and
Hi,
I think Facebook and other immediately rewarding online tools work both ways as you note. We are looking for an alternative activity from what we're doing, and online tools are particularly seductive because they are literally right at our fingertips. That said, once we begin to use these tools, they can become addictive, as we constantly update our status or add new pictures or check out someone else. So many people with whom I speak directly identify the addictive qualities of the medium and their own addictive tendencies. As the one student noted in the quotes above, "I will have cravings and urges to check it after a night out, like an addiction. I have even taken time away from hanging out with people to go check my account, and it is always in the back of my mind." This is a little scary, I think.
Of course, the reasons are tailored to each individual as you note, and like alcohol or other substances, there may be some notion of "responsible use," but I think that many people simply become addicted to the medium and waste much of their lives in cyberspace ;-)
tim
Facebook
I definitely think it is used for procrastination purposes - I actually only check out Facebook at work, usually when I need a break from working, am frustrated with a problem at work and need a diversion. When I'm home, I rarely if ever use Facebook, or the computer, for that matter. It's easy to access at work in an office environment, since you're on the computer anyway, with easy access to the Internet.
"Need a break"
Thanks for the input. Can you explain what you mean when you say "need a break" or a "diversion"?I understand the frustrated part, as it's an emotion. Are these other two related to emotions too?
tim
I never really got into
I never really got into Facebook because I realized that many of my friends seemed to be revolving their lives around it, and I thought that was scary. For example, anytime I would hang out with these Facebook addicts they needed to take pictures to post. The question in my mind was: are you here in the moment, or are you just preforming this moment, and the real focus in your life is Facebook? Although this is a bit of an extremist way of looking at it, my point is that Facebook can be a heavily entrenched part of people's lives.
Facebook addicts
You hit the nail on the head here, I think. There are lots of Facebook addicts out there. Folks who constantly update their status, upload pictures of every event as you noted, and simply feel drawn to the computer over the moment. I think it is terribly problematic as a self-regulatory problem.
agreement
I completely agree with kh. I know certain people who spend so much time taking pictures for facebook. and i must what an interesting blog. I do feel like I do certain tasks (such as Facebook) only to procrastinate and don't do them other wise. I do when I had this paper due I kept on thinking that I have a million things to do and kept founding ways to delay doing the paper and in fact I like found a point in doing those well mindless tasks but when my spring break started and I no longer had work. I honestly didn't understand what to do and I the things I did to procrastinate my paper seemed pointless now. It's like it was fun doing them when I was procrastinating but not otherwise.
Belly of the Beast
Tim,
Why don't you start a Facebook group? It sounds like you'd be feeding the beast, but maybe if you reminded people in the midst of their Facebook activities that they're procrastinating around something more important than updating their status, they'd sign out a little bit sooner. Or if they're procrastinating on Facebook, they might as well learn of resources that might help them curb their procrastination habit. I'd definitely join.
Also, you should definitely keep up the podcasts!
Belly of the Beast - Like living in Vegas fighting gambling
Sorry, no time for that. In any case, I think it would be like living in Vegas to try and stop gambling. As Gandhi has been quoted as saying, "You must be the change you want to see in the world."
I'll keep up the podcasts. I'm doing one today on "Structured Procrastination." The blog will go up here later.
tim
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