The answer is “it depends”… on what type of person you are.

1) The Early Adopters (younger professionals, students, tech enthusiasts), use the “channel” of the latest Social media platform to develop real relationships. Especially when the relationships are separated by geography and time zones, many of these relationships would never have even started if not for the platforms themselves. There is no laziness in this group, as people in this group often consider “real world” personal contact unnecessary. On the other hand, such a strong reliance on Social Media sometimes means that they don’t develop the skills required for interaction using the phone, Zoom, or in-person meetings. (Interestingly, we no longer spend as much time developing skills such as “penmanship” nowadays either…)

2) The “Latest Fad” group: This group jumps on whatever is the latest and greatest, usually for reasons of ego and inclusion. They may use Social networks to communicate instead of phone and in person, if only to make the point that they are ahead of the curve (they usually aren’t). In other words, they may appear lazy, but they want to communicate the “modern” way.  Those who are younger might not have the judgment to determine if they are spending too much time on it or not.

3) The Opportunists: This group joins because they see some sort of personal or professional opportunity for using Social Networks. They are the entrepreneurs and info-peddlars who will do whatever it takes to sell their wares, so long as it can be done in bulk, doesn’t generate huge support requirements, and makes them some money. This group prefers “transactions” to “interactions”, and so they prefer to stay away from time-consuming traditional communications.

4) The Cynics and Realists: This group barely uses social media, or if they do, it is on a passive basis only. They prefer the telephone or in-person meetings – or if absolutely necessary, Zoom. No laziness here… unless you consider that by not participating more actively they are shutting themselves out from professionally (and personally) relevant information and discussions.

6) Everyone Else: Like any new tool, there is a honeymoon period where the tool gets overhyped, overused, and often abused. As the honeymoon ends and the tool develops ubiquity (or dies), people develop an understanding of how, and where, it can best be used. Some historical context: Do you suspect that “social laziness” was also a concern when telephones were introduced?

Does Social Media make you lazy? No. Tools make it possible, but people make it happen. If someone is lazy, they’ll always follow the path of least resistance, no matter the tools at hand.

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