72% of Brits social network in bed, instead of doing…other things…
So it’s official: us Brits are more jacked-into the network than a stony faced Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. According to a new survey from hotel-chain Travelodge, 72% of UK surfers can’t sleep without checking up on social networks like Facebook and Twitter first while in bed. Surely we’ve got better things to be doing between the sheets, right?
Apparently not. The findings show that on average Britons will spend 16 minutes each night socially networking with pals between the sheets on Facebook – with the peak chatting time being 9.45pm.
A further 18% of adults tweet every night in bed whilst one in five Britons catch up on the latest news from their favourite celebrities and friends via Twitter.
Text-addicts are perhaps even worse: 65% of Brits check and send text messages as the last thing they do each night, with 20% of that crowd admitting to having cut short a shag to check an incoming SMS!
Corinne Sweet, Psychologist, commented on the research findings: “We have become a nation of online-a-holics. This addiction for social networking supports Maslow’s theory of humans having three basic needs. One of these being the need for love, affection, belonging and self-worth and Facebook provides the perfect solution to fulfil this requirement. By socially networking we can fulfil our need to communicate and share our news in one hit with all of our contacts across the world 24 / 7 and obtain a comprehensive snapshot of what they are up to at any given time.”
“Like all things there is a time and place and social networking should not take place between the sheets as it can be detrimental to our well being. By texting, tweeting, surfing and writing on our walls in bed we are nodding off with a busy mind which impacts upon our quality of sleep during the night. Bedtime should be associated with calming down and chilling out with a good book, listening to easy music, catching up with your partner or enjoying a love-making session; in order to get a night of deep, nourishing sleep. Make time earlier in the evening for social networking as it will help you distress after a hard day and prepare you for bedtime.”
