Your Boss Is Using Social Media More Than You

Norwegian study on social media shows some alarming facts

A recent study has found that bosses are more likely to use social media for private purposes during work hours than their employees. The research from the University of Bergen (UiB), Norway shows that are very critical of private social media use at work, but middle managers and executives are the most anti-social media. They do not like social media use at work at all, despite bosses taking advantage of the technology more than their subordinates.

Source: tribune.com

Postdoctoral Fellow Cecile Schou Andressen at UiB’s Department of Psychosocial Science said on the issue: “It is very interesting that top executives, who are negative to private web-surfing during working hours, are the ones who surf the most for private purposes when at work.”

She delves into why top bosses use social media for private purposes during working hours, and she explains that it could be due to top executives working for longer periods of time than other employees. For the people who hold higher positions in companies, work and leisure seems to be more integrated, therefore social media becomes an integral part of their communications.

“It is more likely that managers are worried about reductions in output and financial loss as a result of use of private social media among their employees,” she said, and this is understandable as it can be a distraction if used for private purposes, but the counter argument is that many people follow by examples set, and if the management is using social media, then surely the employees will follow suit?

Around 11,000 Norwegian employees participated in the study, which also highlighted the fact that younger employees use social media for private purposes more than older employees do.

Gender was also taken into account, and men browse the internet more for private purposes than women during the working hours of a day. One of the more interesting statistics was that people with a higher education browse social media more, and are generally more active on social networking sites.

Lifestyle was also found to make a difference in social media use, with single people being more active than those in relationships, and extrovert and anxious people being more active also. Here the research finds that there could be room for further study, especially the link between anxiety, depression, and social media.

Source: slipp.in

“Social media probably has a greater social function for singles than it has for people in relationships,” said Andreassen.

The results are analysed in some depth, and the research states that those with higher education and socioeconomic status are likely to be more familiar with the workings of a computer as opposed to those with a lower education. Here the research highlights how opportunities are denied to those in the lower classes of society.

Despite the research having a jovial aspect, there are also some worrying results. It shows that not only are opportunities denied in the physical world for those with a lower education, but also the digital sphere. In order to enter the world’s version of a meta-verse, a person must be competent in computer use, and therefore must have had some sort of education. As time goes on, society is becoming more reliant on social media and the benefits it offers, but if it is reserved for those in the middle and upper classes, the divide in society will only get bigger, and class conflict will become more intense.

Alex Smith

Alex is an English Literature and Sociology undergraduate whose love for written word has led him to write about some obscure topics in his time. Currently a content writer at Social Media Frontiers, be sure to follow him @AlexSatSMF.

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