informationSocial media is a great tool for connecting with people, promoting your business and just plain socializing. You can learn great tips ranging from which gadgets best suit your lifestyle to how to make a great sandwich. If you’ve got a quirky interest, there’s probably someone else (possibly dozens, even hundreds) out there with that same quirky interests.

Yes, some people see social media as a time waster, a useless popularity contest and a distraction from the important things in life. But it’s fun and has a lot of practical businesses as well. Of course, you can get carried away with it so, in the tradition of Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck” here are some fun indicators that you or someone you know might be addicted to social media:

  • You have to carry an extra set of business cards with you – just to list all the social media communities you belong to.
  • An attractive person walks by and you whisper to your friends “wow, I’d like to friend him/her on Facebook.”
  • You refer to your friends from Twitter by their @ username when you talk to them in person.
  • You send out twice as many e-cards at Christmastime to your social media friends as you send real cards to people you’ve met in person.
  • You own a t-shirt that says either “Tweet this!”or “Digg this!”
  • You wake up extra early to be the first one in your online circle of friends to wish everyone a good morning.
  • You subscribe to 100 RSS feeds and 100 channels on Youtube just so you can be the first to post a link to the next viral meme.
  • You choose your friends based on their Twinfluence.
  • You suffer from updates withdrawal when you run to the grocery store and forget your iPhone at home.
  • You stopped driving in to work and started taking the train just so you can continue to post updates during that otherwise wasted time.
  • You have a tickler file titled “cool status updates.”
  • You’re seeing someone to help you with on-line/off-line life balance.
  • You’ve created multiple accounts in the same community and each one has taken on a personality of its own.
  • You have nightmares about your account getting locked out.
  • You run into people at the supermarket that recognize you from social media.
  • The microphone on your cell phone stops working but it takes you over a week to realize it.
  • Your entire online profile is based on a character you created in grade school.
  • You know at least three people in each major city throughout the world.
  • You have a tattoo with your Twitter username or myspace url on it.
  • All your emails and text messages are 140 characters or less – out of habit.
  • When you don’t post an update on your status for 24 hours, you get 100 messages asking if you’re okay.
  • You find it to be a traumatic experience when someone stops following your updates on Twitter.
  • People offer you money to post a link to their web site.
  • You created your own Ning network and are migrating everyone to it.

Have some more? Add a comment and include a link to your favorite social media profile.

You Might Be Addicted to Social Media If…
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3 thoughts on “You Might Be Addicted to Social Media If…

  • December 2, 2009 at 10:35 pm
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    Well, as a relatively newbie Tweeter (5 weeks?) I don’t fall into ALL of those areas but I think I know Tweeters who do! I am really enjoying getting to know so many talented people through their Tweets. Hopefully I don’t fall overboard!!!

  • December 2, 2009 at 11:07 pm
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    Thanks for the comment Tracey and I agree with you about the folks that are out there. I actually fall into quite a bit of these habits myself – but it’s fun and beats watching TV, right? I was ready to write Twitter off a few weeks back but it’s been great connecting with so many interesting people (yourself included) lately.

  • Pingback:The Social Media Trap | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development

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