what are people giving up to spend time on...

We're now seeing a backlash in companies and government organisations blocking access to social networks due to loss of productivity in the workplace. And one of the Second Life founders stated recently that the churn rate of participants was about 90% within 3 months of joining. There is a core group of Second Life zealotsbut the majorityof participants are those who try it and then move on because their first life is too busy.

I'm doing some research into what people are giving up in their day to participate in their social networks. Gooruze has demonstrated that some people spend inordinate amounts of their day conversing in different social networks. I'm curious to know what we're all giving up to do so?

Are we having less sex? Less sleep? Working less because we're accessing networks on the boss's time? Watching less tv, or reading fewer novels or newspapers? Are we conversing less verbally and more digitally? Are we seeing friends less, chatting on the phone less? Not talking with colleagues, just typing with colleagues? Are we doing less exercise - are social networks part of the obesity pandemic? We have to be giving up some things, otherwise we wouldn't have the time to be sitting in front of computers typing our thoughts away. Please share your thoughts and reasons. I'm fascinated to know as I'd like to include the anecdotes as part of my training courses and in the next version of my marketing book.

Thanks in advance for your postings. But gotta go now - have to do my Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Digg, LinkedIn, e-mail groups and banking and get amorous with my wife (who by the way doesn't belong to any digital social networks).