I write frequently about privacy and social networking, but today I’d like to examine a different cost: time. Facebook may be free, but it costs me a total of 122 hours annually— almost four times the amount of time I spent on Wikipedia. What opportunities does Facebook afford, and what is the opportunity cost?

My Facebook Usage, 2011

Are the relationships I maintain through social networking worth 122 hours annually to me? Honestly, probably. But as Facebook hits peak usage in America, they should consider how to maximize efficiency in user experience, rather than continuing to build the site into a quagmire that traps users and maximizes page views. That kind of thinking opens up all kinds of opportunities for competitors.