According to a new study social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are costing the Brits just over 17 Billion Rand a year in wasted time. As with the piracy debate (not all songs pirated count toward lost revenues for the music and movie industries) this study fails to take into account the fact that the time that so amazingly disappeared might well have been more than willingly wasted anyway. What came first, the chicken or the egg?

It is a well known and accepted fact in scientific observation that the mere process of observing affects that which is being observed. In this case human beings of all God’s wonderful creatures. We are notoriously fickle things but according to statistical research, quite the honest fools when presented with guaranteed anonymity on a questionnaire that can put a price tag on our genetic disposition to want to sit around and do absolutely nothing.

That is exactly what this enquiry was about. In truth it is all becoming a little ridiculous because from the corporate experience I have, I know that people generally do what they absolutely have to and then as little as possible. Come on, let’s be completely honest, do the bosses that pay as much money to have these surveys done as they apparently lose according to these surveys really work hard themselves? No they don’t! You won’t easily find a study putting the upper echelons of business in the spotlight because it would be considered “a waste of company moneys” but we all know there are some people there that have offices that could put Club Med to shame! Naturally one need not exaggerate, but you get my drift.

Next time somebody comes at you with a statistic like that point this out to them, “In a country with a gross domestic product of more than 27 Trillion Rand annually you want to get your panties in a knot about 17 Billion Rand?!!? Go smoke your socks!”. If they still don’t get the picture, offer to stipulate it in zeros… or better yet, have them count to 17 Billion and then on to 27 Trillion! They will get the picture.

For more get the full story here.

Please note: Neither the author nor MyADSL will take responsibility for any injuries incurred whilst having your tongue in your cheek.