Are you a prisoner to your cellphone?

I recall a debate in the early days of the internet about whether it was ethical to make money using this new technology. That discussion sure didn’t last long!

Now, if you happen to view a website selling pants, be prepared for endless jeans ads on your social media feed. Privacy is elusive, as tech giants conspire with businesses to inundate us with targeted messages designed to separate us from our hard-earned cash.

How is this working for you? If you are a business owner, is it a helpful way to increase sales? What about your employees? How much time during the workday are they using social media for personal reasons? Do they get easily distracted from work responsibilities?

Playing with the human psyche is a great marketing strategy. Think about going to a restaurant and seeing people immersed in their smartphones, devoid of conversation with the person across the table. Many stare at their devices as they walk down the street, oblivious to their surroundings.

Of course, it is not just social media:

Texts and emails can be pretty addictive too. We all like to keep our inboxes clean, and notifications at all hours demand our attention. We can’t help ourselves!

Are you a prisoner to your cellphone?

I ask that question in leadership trainings on prioritizing use of precious time, including the urgent-important matrix espoused by Steven Covey. Constantly checking your phone can be a distraction, reactively diminishing minutes (adding up to hours) that could be applied proactively to more important tasks.

I also recommend that businesses clarify expectations on reading and answering work emails during off-hours. People need a break from work to recharge their batteries, avoid burnout and maintain high levels of productivity.

Covid and evolving home and hybrid working environments have complicated the game. It is great to have the flexibility, if your boss agrees, to have daytime downtime to pick up the kids from school and then make it up in the evening. Today’s businesses need to have some boundaries, but also be flexible to work around people’s lives and give them some degree of control.

This necessitates a paradigm shift, requiring employers to better know their employees and, to the extent possible, adapt work to their individual needs. Some employees still prefer the traditional 9-to-5 approach, so figuring out the best ways to get people together when needed creates its own challenges.

Welcome to the reality of today’s office workplace!

It is sad that social media platforms that promised to bring us together are fostering so much division. Algorithms favor posts that generate emotional reactions, keeping us online for as long as possible (so we see more ads). If it screams it streams, but if kind pay no mind.

Jonathan Haidt, writing in The Atlantic (“After Babel — How Social Media Dissolved the Mortar of Society and Made America Stupid”), argues that social media, since 2009, has led to “the fractured country we now inhabit.”

“Something went terribly wrong, very suddenly,” he observes. “We are disoriented, unable to speak the same language or recognize the same truth. We are cut off from one another and from the past.”

Social media has both magnified and weaponized the frivolous, Haidt declares. “Social scientists have identified at least three major forces that collectively bind together successful democracies: social capital (extensive social networks with high levels of trust), strong institutions and shared stories,” Haidt adds. “Social media has weakened all three.”

The potential for social media to breed employee conflicts, on top of distractions, can undermine positive workplace dynamics. So, what is a business leader to do?

Be clear with employees about reasonably limiting personal cellphone and social media use during work hours. Training can be helpful on how algorithms work and how social media can be addictive and have negative effects on workplace productivity, as is training on Covey’s urgent-important time management matrix and adopting personal discipline strategies. Helping employees to see both the positives and risks of social media can increase awareness and reduce the potential for workplace conflicts.

I don’t advocate going cold turkey on social media advertising — this is the world we live in today. But a little education of yourself and your employees can help mitigate the negative aspects of social media.

Douglass P. Teschner, founder of Growing Leadership LLC, can be reached at dteschner@Growing-LeadershipLLC.com.