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 Linda Thomas
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Linda is the morning news anchor and features reporter for KIRO Radio. This is her local news blog, with an emphasis on social media, technology, Northwest companies, education, parenting, and anything else that grabs her attention.

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Following a murder and suicide involving his teammate, Jovan Belcher, Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Brady Quinn asks people to spend less time interacting through social media and more time in meaningful conversations. (AP file photo)

NFL quarterback advises us to step away from social media

December 9, 2012 @ 7:29 pm (Updated: 9:17 pm - 12/9/12 )

When you ask someone how they're doing, do you really care what the answer is?

When you answer that question by saying "fine" do you mean it?

The quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is asking people to examine how much time they spend on social networks, and evaluate how they can instead spend that time connecting with people in real life.

"We live in a society of social networks and Twitter pages and Facebook," says Brady Quinn.

"That's fine and stuff, but you know, we have contact with our work associates, our family, our friends and it seems like half the time we're more preoccupied with our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships we have in front of us."

Quinn's comments came after teammate Jovan Belcher murdered his girlfriend last week. Belcher then committed suicide after thanking the Chiefs coaching staff for giving him a chance.

Many of us spend our days connecting through social media sites.

People in the U.S. spent 121 billion minutes on social media sites in July 2012 alone, according to Nielsen's Social Media report for the third quarter. That's over six hours staring into a screen or smartphone, instead of someone's eyes.

"Hopefully, people can learn from this, and try to actually figure out if someone's battling something deeper on the inside than what they may be revealing on a day-to-day basis," says Quinn.

By LINDA THOMAS, I use social media less than you'd imagine

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (3)


  • Add A Comment

  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    It's Drugs and Alcohol
    December 10, 2012 12:20 am
    not twitter.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mnpat wrote...
    "NFL quarterback advises us to step away from social media"
    December 10, 2012 7:39 am
    Bingo....someone finally figured it out. If some would rid themselves of total obsession they might find a whole world of life going on around them.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    MYNorthwest.com poster advises N.F.L players to step away from drugs.
    December 10, 2012 11:04 am
    Stop Drinking and drugging and you might stop crashing cars.Ignition interlock devices are being considered it's so bad.Jovan Belcher was drinking heavy before he killed Kasandra.B.T.W I don't even have a phone to be fixated on , It's Drugs and Alcohol period.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }