I do it for two hours a day.

Someone asked me at a workshop how many hours a day I spend on social media/networking sites. I told them about two hours a day.

This doesn't seem that unusual since I stopped watching a lot of television and started consuming information online.

In 1998, I can remember a time of about six months living without a television. I devoured magazine and newspapers, read books and studied software since I was a corporate trainer. It really made me notice how television had contributed to my procrastination. The overwhelming silence forced me to think about what really had an impact on others. For example, learning one cool shortcut could really impress my corporate students - who were under such pressure to find more time in their day.

Television is a constant stream of information, but we don't have to interact with it - unlike social media. This is why people get overwhelmed. They are your real friends, family and business associates. It is a "given" that you should respond and in a timely way at that, putting pressure on us by the hour.

Also, it takes time to learn a new tool and people can be very hard on themselves. We are all beginners when we learn to decode information.

So I guess it did strike me as unusual that I do spend close to two hours a day on social media sites. I feel the need to justify it - just like people don't want to admit to watching a lot of television. However, I don't think we have to apologize for anything - just focus on what our own goals are. Aristotle said that the roots of education are bitter but the fruits are sweet!