09 Feb We Spend More Time on Facebook Than We Think

Dr Dinkar Sharma and Dr. Lazaros Gonidis

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lazaros Gonidis PhD candidate
Postgraduate Researcher
University of Kent

MedicalResearch.com: In general, why do we tend to underestimate time when we are distracted versus when we are doing something boring? Is the adage that “time flies when you’re having fun” true?

Response:  In order to be accurate at time “keeping” we need to attend to it. Anything that distracts us makes us less accurate, and to be more specific, it makes us underestimate the duration of events. In simple terms when we experience an event that last 10 minutes a distraction could make it feel like 5 minutes. On the other hand when we are bored, let’s say during a non-interesting event, we tend to focus more on time keeping looking forward for the event to finish. In this case we would overestimate the event and 10 minutes could feel like 15 minutes.

MedicalResearch.com: In layman’s terms, why do you think we underestimate time spent on Facebook-related activities than on other forms of Internet use?  Is it that it’s personalized, with people we know and articles tailored to our opinions and our beliefs? 

Response: Our findings suggest that perhaps we find Facebook stimulating, it attracts our attention, hence it distracts from time keeping and it leads to underestimation of time passed. Now why this is different to than just surfing on the net? At the moment we are still exploring this. It could very well be that Facebook is more personal to us than just surfing the web. Hence, it has a greater emotional impact on us that leads to greater underestimation than just using the Internet

MedicalResearch.com: How serious are these implications? It’s certainly something we can all relate to, but are there actual risks or dangers associated with this type of behavior? 

Response: As with all things that are not done in moderation, being on Facebook for prolonged periods could potentially come with dangers. What we have shown is that this frequent use of Facebook distorts our time perception. In reality, this could mean that people may involuntarily stay on Facebook more than they originally planned and this could have implications on their productivity, personal relations, resting/sleeping time etc.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything our readers can DO to fight this tendency to get sucked into to Facebook and lose time on a regular basis?

Response: That is a very good question and this is something we have not investigated yet.

However, a generally good practice would be to decide in advance the time we want to spend on Facebook and set an alarm or a reminder that would help us log out. In a sense be more mindful of how long we want to stay “connected”. Also, if we are having concerns about the time we spend online or just on Facebook then try to seek professional advice.

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:

Lazaros Gonidis, Dinkar Sharma. Internet and Facebook related images affect the perception of time. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2017; DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12429

Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.

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Last Updated on February 9, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD