Tumblr
Four women told the Herald Sun that they are absolutely addicted to the social media platforms...and what it's meant for their lives, careers, and relationships with loved ones.
One woman, 40-year-old Natalie Trice, says she's on Facebook and Twitter for five hours a day, but feels absolutely no guilt.
"It's my vice," she tells the Herald Sun. "It's something I can do at home. It's my hobby."
But Trice said sometimes it causes tension between her and her husband, who constantly is begging her to not post their arguments or at-home anecdotes on Facebook for the world to see.
"But I usually do," Trice confesses.
"I have 550 Facebook friends, and only about six good friends in real life," she adds.
Then there's Emily Bryce-Perkins, who, at 29, says that without social media, she wouldn't have been a successful publicist. She cites Twitter and Facebook as ways she connects with people in her industry, and says her phone is always in her hand. Flickr
"Whenever a news story breaks it is just so exciting to watch it unfold in real time. Plus, it's completely meritocratic: if you're sharp on Twitter and good with puns it's a really useful platform both socially and professionally," she tells the Herald Sun.
But Bryce-Perkins also admits that Facebook was something she cited in her divorce from her husband.
"Facebook was a flashpoint between us - I didn't think he was intelligent or erudite enough for it and I found his crass posts absolutely mortifying," she says of her ex-husband.
15-year-old Izzy Mackay says the first thing she does when she wakes up in the morning is check her phone, and at lunchtime, she and her friends sit in the cafeteria staring at their screens.
"My group of friends is really good at speaking to each other, but lots of other groups will just hang around in silence posting on Instagram," Mackay says.
She often considers taking a break from the social networks but never goes through with it - "it would be social suicide."