A reporter for the San Jose, California Mercury News reported that just for the month of December 2010, Americans alone spent 49.3 BILLION minutes on Facebook. That's the equivalent of about 94,000 YEARS. I haven't tried to verify those numbers on my calculator, especially since it wasn't designed to handle much more than balancing my bank account.
Those minutes are gone forever.
I can't help but wonder ... how many houses for Habitat for Humanity could have been built, how much food could have been grown in backyard gardens to feed the hungry, or improving the environment in some small, but significant way. How many simple acts of kindness could have enriched the lives of others?
Even if an individual only spends a conservative 10-15 minutes per day 'social networking', that adds up to 5-6 hours each month. While it's unrealistic to expect this trend to change, maybe we can commit to a conscious effort to make our written words (which reflect our actions) to the people we include in our circle positive, uplifting and encouraging.
Each of us has the power to use the limited minutes we are allotted on earth count for something besides a pathetic statistic.
Each of us has the power to use the limited minutes we are allotted on earth count for something besides a pathetic statistic.
Hear, hear! So hard not to spend too much time metaphorically looking in the mirror. Too few people seem to have noticed that's what they're doing.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts should have wider distribution!