adminNaturally it follows that the industry would inevitably become big business and this has culminated in Facebook listing on the New York Stock Exchange late last year.
Social networks have revolutionised the way we communicate, bringing together people all over the world through its profound interface and, more importantly, in a cost-effective manner.
It appears no one has been spared from the grip of social networks, young and old alike.
In recent months the now Pope Emeritus Benedict the XVI joined Twitter in an attempt to stay in touch and up to date with his over 1,2 billion following of Catholics the world over.
The Vatican probably realised that they have a greater chance of reaching out and talking to their congregation via Twitter than in parishes.
On the flipside these very much “idolised” social networks bring with them untold vices, chief among them being that an invaluable amount of potentially productive time is lost to “chatting.
Just last month after a poor showing by Zimbabwean scholars in their O and A Level examinations, a number of parents of the unsuccessful teens partially laid the blame on Facebook and WhatsApp.
So captivating are social networks that teenagers at times cannot be blamed for failing to steer clear of them when they ought to be concentrating on their studies.
My very own house has been taken over by social networks with everyone from my husband all the way to my sons always “online”.
It comes as no surprise that many companies in an attempt to increase production through increased efficiency from staff have banned employees from accessing social networks during working hours.
Many workplace servers are jammed by employees desperately trying to get online simply to update their statuses.
A quick glance at many computers in any office will show that instead of doing their work most people are busy on social networks.
For the media, it has become easier to get interviews through these social networks like Facebook.
Most journalists have moved from the traditional way of sending questions through fax and now rely on Facebook.
This has its advantages as the sources immediately respond to questions if online. This also gives journalists an opportunity to ask follow-up questions, something that is rather difficult if questions were sent through a fax machine.
It is also common knowledge in the media world that if you want to talk to some of our very own Cabinet ministers you will stand a higher chance of succeeding and in a very short space of time for that matter if you reach them via Facebook and Twitter pages. Some ministers are known to engage in fierce confrontations on these social networks.
Unless of course they are endowed with superhuman multi-tasking abilities, one genuinely wonders just how they run their ministries considering some are known to spend the entire day online.
Some Members of Parliament use platforms like Facebook to interact with their constituents.
I am not claiming to be immune to this affliction, but I feel the time has come that we wrestle back control of our lives from the “mafia” that is the social networks.
Many people will readily admit that they spend more time on social networks than the work they are paid to do and surprisingly most are not remorseful about the situation they find themselves in.
Our inability to focus on our work is inevitably negatively affecting our economy although there is no certain measurable way to gauge it.
The solution, I feel, lies in a paradigm shift and withdrawing from the mantra that we cannot do without social networks.
I am not suggesting that one entirely withdraw from such networks as they have evidently brought about immense advantages for many across the world. This can be easily achieved by limiting the amount of time one dedicates to social networks a day.
Social networks are here to stay, one needs to prioritise and balance the act.
Online Reporter