Try to estimate how much time you spend each day on social media. No really, give it a shot.
It might not feel like you're living a second life online when you tap in to Facebook or Instagram on your phone after you wake up or while you're waiting for a ride. But five minutes here and ten minutes there can add up fast.
Last November, Adweek reported between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest--and now LinkedIn, Snapchat and Ello--Americans are spending between 3.5 and 4 hours per day keeping up with their friends and followers online. That's practically a part time job.
And while you're consuming nearly four hours of content online every day, what are you not doing?
Realizing how much time we all spend on social media every day, my team set out to answer this question: what if there is a way to make the time we spend on our devices more collaborative and meaningful? Then, it hit us. There should be an app for that. Now, there is.
We created Time Machine, a platform where brands, organizations and people can come together to rally other around causes or movements they're passionate about. The platform works kind of like Kickstarter. Once you download the app, you can join multiple campaigns and take action on behalf of lots of different causes.
We launched the app on iOS with the "It's Time" campaign. Now through July 28, you can complete a list of nearly 100 actions to raise awareness for causes such as The Tyler Robinson Foundation, The Progeria Research Foundation and Sophie's Place. That means every minute you spend in the app helps kids facing cancer, rapid-aging diseases or other critical illnesses by bringing them the awareness and support they need.
And while we shouldn't need an incentive to do good, when that incentive is backstage passes to a sold out Imagine Dragons concert, it doesn't hurt. As users spend time doing good through Time Machine, they're entered to win backstage passes and VIP experiences at the Imagine Dragons concert in Salt Lake City on July 28. Thousands of others will be entered to win free meals from Costa Vida or merchandise like Arvo watches, Jaybird headphones and Beacon Audio speakers. The more time you spend, the more entries you get to win.
We hope Time Machine can help people find a shared purpose by getting them to work together, inspire action and be inspired by others. And we're watching it happen right now, on and off the screen.
Interested in joining "It's Time" to support dozens of good causes? Get Time Machine for your iPhone now in the app store and you can spend time and make change, too.