A University of Maryland study released last week suggests social media addicted students may be real. 200 students who participated in the study were asked to abstain from ALL media for ONLY 24 hours.

Yes, all media which meant no cell phones, no computers, no television or ipods, and no newspapers (although how a newspaper is media I'm not quite sure).  And this abstinence was only for 24 hours.
 
The students ended up writing about their boredom, loneliness, and anxiety in what totaled up to 400 pages between them writing about their loneliness, anxiety, withdrawal symptoms, and  dependency. Interestingly,  the study's authors think that the symptoms reported by the students were akin to those who felt withdrawal symptoms from drugs and alcohol.
 
The study reported that students felt that cell phones and the Internet were "basic necessities" for college students. I think it's a basic necessity for most of us who want to remain connected. I've tried staying away from the computer over the weekends but I cheat by checking my emails on my phone. 

Can I remain unconnected to the world and abstain from "all media" for 24 hours? Probably. But can I live without it for 48 hours? Definitely not! I guess that makes me addicted too eh?

Nokia's got some cool new toys err phones being released. Yes, Nokia plans to give Blackberry a run for it's money with its Nokia C3 phone which has Wi-Fi capability. It allows easy access to Facebook and Twitter and allows a users social networking updates to show up on the phone's screen.
 
In addition to the Nokia 3, there are the Nokia C6 and the Nokia E5 – all three of them have full qwerty keyboards with easy messaging capabilities and inclusive of social networking tools.
 
The Nokia C6 has a slide out keyboard and a 3.2 inch touch screen which can display images from its 5 megapixel built in camera. It also includes free walk and drive navigation and Ovi Maps.

[Nokia C6]
 

The Nokia E5, can access corporate e-mail through Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler.
 
According to industry analysts Nokia's phones are priced low to allow Nokia to target consumers in low-cost countries like China and India. So it appears that these three upcoming phones have been designed to kill a few birds with one stone. Let's wait and see how they do when they come out in the upcoming two quarters.

Move over computer, you are becoming extinct; well at least slowly moving into oblivion as far as social networking sites go. Comscore, a company which reports web metrics found that 1 of 3 smartphone users accessed social networking sites through their mobile browsers. Facebook saw a 112% increase in mobile users and Twitter saw a 347% increase.

Comscore senior VP of mobile thinks that "Social media is a natural sweet spot for mobile since mobile devices are at the center of how people communicate with their circle of friends, whether by phone, text, email, or, increasingly, accessing social networking sites via a mobile browser."

The mobile social media access numbers reported by Comscore are staggering when you think about it. Over 25 MI Facebook users and approximately 5 million Twitter users logged in using mobile browsers.
 
Here's some food for thought for all business owners out there:

You know that mobile users aren't just logging into Facebook and Twitter through their mobile browsers. They're doing other browsing too; from buying quick ticket items to ordering food.

Are you ready with a "MOBILE" compatible website for these mobile users?

Social networking and mobile TV, the two most touted features of AT&T's LG Arena are coming to you soon. Starting February 26th, AT&T will begin selling the LG Arena with Qualcomm's MediaFLO chip in its online store. The LG Arena will have a 3-inch WVGA touchscreen and also a 5 megapixel camera.

 
So you can watch live and time-shifted programming from most major networks and their affiliates including ABC, CBS, CNBC, COMEDY CENTRAL, Disney, ESPN, FOX, MTV, NBC, and many more. Last but not the least, the LG Arena offers a full browser through which you can network on Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace.

So what will all this cost you?

The LG Arena will cost $250 with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate may be available. The Mobile TV is available for an additional $10 per month over the monthly contract that you get for yourself.
 
The LG Arena is AT&T Mobile TV-capable, which means that subscribers will be able to enjoy FLO TV content from TV channels like ABC, CBS, Disney Channel, Comedy Central, Fox, MTV and NBC.

Hmmm. So my cell phone plan is coming up for renewal soon. Should I get the iphone (Yeah, we're a minority who haven't succumbed to the iphone bug yet)? Or now do I just get the AT&T LG Arena?

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Keeping up with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver will be easier with Yahoo's Mobile site, m.yahoo.com/olympics. Although it doesn't have video, Yahoo's mobile site has still photos, live results and a complete schedule of all the events. The site also has blogs, commentary from experts, and a robust search function which will allow users to search by sport or athlete.
 
With big name sponsors like Visa and Samsung, kudos to Yahoo for their innovative approach to provide users what they need.

(Businesses; are you convinced yet that you NEED a robust website to compete in today's web & mobile savvy world?)