Web surfers in the US spent the equivalent of over 3,600
years, some 1.3 million days, on social networking sites like
Facebook and MySpacein April alone, according to
research.
And the amount of time people are spending on these sites is
increasing at a phenomenal rate.
According to web traffic figures from Nielsen Online, the number
of minutes spent on Facebook alone accountedfor 13.9 billion
minutes of US citizens' time in April this year, compared with1.7
billion lastApril.
MySpace took up 31% less minutes in April this year than the
same period last year, with users spending second 4.97billion
minutes on it.
Blogger, Taggedand Twittercame third, fourth and fifth.
With so much time being spent on these sites, it is highly
likely people are
using them during work time. Companies must harness and control
its use if they are to benefit from it.
According to a recent
report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
(CIPD), worries about misuse and employee bad behaviour are
creating a "Facebook fear factor" which companies need to overcome
if they are to gain the benefits of the new technology.