Addicted Much?

Perhaps this is a warning to myself, but I can't help but notice the growing impact of internet addictions, especially those to social media, like the Florida mom who lost control and killed her own baby. Of course most of us will deny that we would ever be pushed to that limit, but have we come close?

Does this cheesy video look familiar?




I'll admit, I've been there. There being the place where upon sitting for hours on social media, any interaction with a live person becomes a nuisance. I'm sure I've snapped a fair share at my little brothers unfairly because I was "in the zone" of the internet. And even now, sometimes I catch myself.

I was excited to see Holiday Matinee mention Hamlet's Blackberry, a book that shares practical advice on how to manage all the connectedness and how to disconnect once in a while. I'll definitely be picking this one up.

Technology isn't evil, but achieving a healthy balance can be challenging. How do you set your boundaries? Are you happy with the amount of face time vs. tech time you get?

I liked how Sarah from Her.Meneutics put it:

"When God created man to desire companionship, he didn’t take a rib and turn it into a Wi-fi signal. He took Adam’s rib and turned it into a living, breathing creature who could hug, touch, comfort, and even intuit emotion in its fellow inhabitants. I don’t think that means God frowns on technology like computers or phones. Social media facilitate most of our relationships and can even deepen some of them. But God’s intentions for humans call us to be purposeful about preserving face-to-face relationships — and stopping virtual addictions before they start."

Groupon, Living Social, Mamapedia and now...Walmart?

Face it. We all love good deals and most of us have given in to at least some form of group buying at some point this past year. I love it because:

1) I'm a sucker for deals.

2) Sometimes these deals are actually useful.

For example, we bought a Groupon for a free kayaking lesson from Next Adventure. This deal was amazing in itself, the experience was phenomenal AND at the end of the lesson, we scored some more coupons for Next Adventure as well as a free t-shirt. Thanks to this series of events, I scored an amazing pair of new Tubbs Frontier snowshoes for 80 bucks!

So these group buying sites have their benefits. Like for example, Mamapedia, which features a daily deal and donates 5% of the purchase to a school of your choice. How noble.

But their awesomeness and power over what we buy is kind of scary. Group buying is brilliant and frightening at the same time. I still wrestle with how I feel about participating in them. Are they dictating what I buy? Am I in control or is Groupon influencing me? What boundaries do we set for ourselves with these things? Do I simply need to accept that this is a freakishly effective marketing strategy that I enjoy being a target of?

And then today I find that Walmart is joining in on the scheme. Apparently they too have their own version of group buying. This article raises some interesting points about Walmart, but I think the questions are also applicable to all the social media coupon sites.

As consumers who are so used to having many choices, why are we absolutely enjoying the concept of being told what deals exist and on some subconscious level being told where to go and what to do based on the weakness we all have for incredible deals?

I feel like pleading ignorance. I don't want to think of the implications of this marketing strategy and just relish in good deals, but at the same time...I can't ignore it. Tangled neurons!

Your thoughts?