IAF Air Marshall Says Over-Indulgence In Social Media May Cause Fatigue, Focus Issues

India's Air Marshall P.P. Reddy has sent a communication to combat flying crews saying that he has serious concerns about the use of social media by pilots and air crews.

Specifically, Reddy says that excessive use of social media may be lead to a lack of sleep and degradation of the ability to focus, which could translate to errors in the cockpit.

The U.K. newspaper The Mail reports that Air Marshall Reddy, who is also a fighter pilot, said in the communication that there is an "unhealthy preoccupation with social networking media and the tools which enable it.

""We need to exercise discretion to maintain a healthy balance between our highly demanding profession and distractions like social networking media, mobiles and laptops to name a few. We can ill-afford to put expensive ac and lives at risk due to excessive indulgence in social networking media and other distractions," he wrote.

According to the IAF, there have been four recent incidents beginning in July, 2012, that have involved pilots who showed up to fly without adequate rest. An informal inquiry showed that they had been online until late into the night on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Reddy stops short of calling for a ban on social media, but he does point out that "Self discipline is of great importance because beyond a point no one can monitor and control your life. We can ill afford to put expensive ac (aircraft) and lives at risk due to excessive indulgence in social networking media and other distractions."

(Image from file)

FMI: http://indianairforce.nic.in