Survey shows mounting social media obligations have become a stress and a chore

A survey of 19 to 26-year-olds, conducted in China, Singapore and the U.S. by JWT Singapore, found that over 50% of young adults find it too time consuming to keep up with all their social media commitments, and concede the time they spend on social networking sites (SNS) has had a negative impact on their job or studies. Nearly half feel more stressed by their social media commitments now compared to a year ago – and say that managing these commitments has become a chore.

“Young adults are super wired, and that’s created an ever-present social obligation that’s starting to wear them down. They feel they have to look at and ‘like’ their friends’ photos and status updates to keep up and show they care,” Angus Fraser, Managing Director of JWT Singapore. “This demographic is clearly suffering from rising levels of social media stress.They really need a break.”

So JWT Singapore and Nestle created the KIT KAT Social Break Widget, which can be downloaded for free at www.kitkat.com.sg/socialbreak. This innovative widget, which is the first of its kind, sits on a consumer’s desktop computer and automatically ‘likes’ photos their friends have tagged them in on Facebook, auto-shares articles that friends have posted on LinkedIn, and tweets back short, quick responses, like ‘tell me more’ and ‘let’s meet up and chat’ to messages they’ve been tagged in on Twitter.

There’s no time or place that’s sacrosanct: a notable number of respondents in all three countries say they visit social media sites while on dates (13%), while in bed with their partner (11%), and during intimate moments (7%). Americans are particularly adept at multitasking, fiddling around on SNS while getting dressed (29%) and talking on the phone (35%).

All that social networking is taking a toll on their work and personal lives. Nearly half of employed young adults across all three countries say they’ve recently been late for a meeting because they were checking SN sites. That figure rises to 59% among employed respondents in China. Over 40% of all respondents say the amount of time they spend on social media has led to conflict with family, friends or their significant others.

For many, opting out is not optional. Over half say they feel pressure to be in constant contact on social media, and 60% say that their friends often ask them in person to check out photos and comments they’ve post on social networking sites. Over half say they feel obligated to ‘like’ or comment on their friends’ photos and status updates. Young, working Americans are the most likely to feel guilty (53%) if they don’t respond to a social media message right away.

Young adults also carefully manage how they portray themselves online. Americans feel their profiles are most realistic, while Chinese are more likely to use social networking to upgrade their image: 67% of Chinese said they look more attractive in their social media profile picture than they do in real life, compared to 35% in the US and 53% in Singapore.

Asian youth are particularly wired – and weary. Young adults in Singapore are more inclined to visit social networking sites while out and about, compared to their peers in the U.S and China. Singaporeans also receive the most notifications, with more than half receiving them every couple of hours or so. The response speed to Twitter and Facebook is also highest in Singapore. Young adults in China, meanwhile, are the most stressed out: 68% feel obligated to ‘like’ their friends photos and updates, 66% find it social media obligations too time consuming and 57% feel more stressed out now than a year before.

Young working adults across all three countries feel higher levels of SNS stress than those who are still studying. A notable 57% of employed respondents said they sometimes feel jealous of other people on social media sites – and 55% sometimes feel bad about themselves after taking a glimpse of other people’s lives via social media.

Working young adults in China, where the pressure to network, excel on the job and marry well is particularly high, are most under the gun: 65% of employed Chinese respondents say they feel pressure to be in constant contact on social media, sharply higher than their working counterparts in the US and Singapore, 62% feel pressure to appear witty on social media, and 58% say their social media obligations are a source of stress.

“Small wonder. Social media lays a person’s professional and personal accomplishments bare for all to see,” said Valerie Cheng, JWT Singapore’s Executive Creative Director, who led the team that created the widget. “The Kit Kat widget is the perfect, fun way to lighten the load yet keep up with social appearances. It’ll make you look connected, clued in and responsive, all while you’re having a break.”

That’s sure to strike a chord. Almost 60% of young adult in all three markets said they wished there was a service available to help them manage their social media commitments.

“KIT KAT has been encouraging people to take a break since 1957. This innovative widget brings that time-honoured message into the digital age,” says Valerio Nannini, Managing Director, Nestle Singapore (Pte) Ltd. “It’s great that we now have a tool to help people take a break where they need it the most – online!”

The survey was conducted from February 1 and February 8, 2012, by JWT Singapore using SONAR, JWT’s proprietary online research tool. JWT surveyed a total of 900 young adults, aged 18 to 26, including 300 from China, 300 from Singapore and 300 from the U.S. Half the sample was employed and half were students.

About JWT APAC
JWT opened their first offices in Asia Pacific in 1929. JWT APAC, headquartered in Singapore, today has more than 3,000 employees spread across 18 countries. Not only are we recognized as one of the largest and most experienced agencies in APAC, but also one of the most creative. In 2011, we captured Mainland China’s first Cannes Grand Prix Lion and first Grand LIA at the London International Awards. We were also named the number 3 Network Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia. Our long history of firsts continues with Lo Sheung Yan, China Chairman and Northeast Asia ECD, being appointed as Cannes Lions first ever Jury President from China. In addition to working with JWT’s prestigious multinational clients, JWT APAC works with some of Asia’s largest brands including Haier, Indosat, Bharti Airtel and Korea Ginseng & Tobacco.

About JWT
JWT is the world’s best-known marketing communications brand. Headquartered in New York, JWT is a true global network with more than 200 offices in over 90 countries employing nearly 10,000 marketing professionals. JWT consistently ranks among the top agency networks in the world and continues its dominant presence in the industry by staying on the leading edge—from producing the first-ever TV commercial in 1939 to developing award-winning branded content for brands such as Smirnoff, Macy’s, Ford and HSBC. JWT’s pioneering spirit enables the agency to forge deep relationships with clients including Bayer, Bloomberg, Cadbury, Diageo, DTC, Ford, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft, Nestl, Nokia, Rolex, Royal Caribbean, Schick, Shell, Unilever, Vodafone and many others. JWT’s parent company is WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY).