When we look at individuals spending a few minutes or even an hour a day on facebook, it doesnt seem like its such a big deal, but when you figure out the math like I did, you release how much human productivity is completely wasted on it. Here is the math. 900 million users and lets say they spend 5 minutes average per day on it. (yes, some spend hours, but some also dont log on for days, so lets just say 5 minutes for this example) Thats 4.5 billion minutes wasted on facebook. How much is 4.5 billion minutes? It's 75 million man-hours. Or It's 3,125,000 days Or It's 8,555 years. 8,555 man-years of productivity wasted every single day on facebook. Over the next month, over 256,000 years will be wasted on facebook. What could the people of the world accomplish with an extra 256,000 years of time?
Nice analysis, but if they weren't wasting time on facebook, they'd be wasting time playing freecell, or getting candy and soda out of the dispensers in the break room. If you are talking about the work at home types, simply replace kitchen for dispensers. It's not about social media. It's about focus and discipline. Idiots who want to work 20 minutes out of every hour have existed for centuries.
Facebook has nothing on television... At least with Facebook, you are required to engage your brain in some manner to type a marginally coherent sentence or figure out how to upload your most recent semi-nude, "drunk-off-your-ass" party photo. With TV, you just click once and then drool in a half-conscious state for 46 minutes while you watch Mario Lopez dance the Lambada with the chick who played that smart-mouthed neighbor on that one sit-com about 10 years ago...You know, what's her name... Of course not all Facebook usage is bad and the same can be said about TV, but the popularity of some of the crap makes you wonder.
I don't do Facebook, don't do Twitter, and I can't even figure out how to turn on new TV I just bought !!! I am horrible at fixing computers, but I can code them and trade. I don't have the patience to deal with dumb people any more either, probably why I don't do those sites. But now when the Laptops stop working, I pile them in the corner for someone else to fix and grab a new one out of the box that someone else set up for me, NOW I got it made, and did it all without Facebook.
Facebook is the face of the useless economy and a useless population. Like the youtube partners who make 6 figure incomes by posting drivel like jumping off a roof on top of their little retard brother, Facebook will make money because there is a lot of money to be made by pandering to fools. Just ask any televangalist. Now put your hand on the TV and send me $1000.
Imo, the problem is: there are no expectations, nothing demanded of anyone to do anything. No one is accountable for anything and zippo on responsibility and "it's not my job" so what will people do? Fill their time with socializing and talking mindless mundane ordinary day to day drivel.