Social media has reached a very high level among the main forms of access for Brazilians. The popularization of these platforms has happened in a very democratic way, leading users of all profiles and ages to use them intensively, as is the case with Instagram and TikTok.
However, this type of access can also be very harmful to companies. This is because access during working hours can significantly impair the productivity of their employees and, consequently, lead to delays in the delivery of tasks and activities expected by managers.
For this reason, there is a growing demand from companies seeking more efficient tools to ensure the blocking of social networks on the corporate internet and on devices used by employees. In this way, the company can more effectively control which resources employees can use and thus avoid problems caused by unauthorized access.
This is a perfectly legitimate concern, especially since Brazil ranks third in the number of hours spent on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok (according to Comscore ). While these platforms provide entertainment, they are veritable productivity traps in the workplace.
Instagram and TikTok: the social media platforms on the rise.
As mentioned above, Instagram and TikTok are gaining increasing popularity among Brazilian users. Within these platforms, it's possible to find instructive, entertaining, and informative content, catering to diverse audiences. According to data from Comscore , approximately 97% of internet users in Brazil have an account on some social network . However, when it comes to productivity, the use of Instagram and TikTok can be a real problem.
It's important to remember that more and more brands and companies are seeking great opportunities on these platforms to promote their products and services. However, along with these brands, scams and cyber threats are also emerging, jeopardizing data confidentiality and cybersecurity within companies.
Just as cybercriminals are able to plant traps on websites and internet pages, they are also able to use these platforms for malicious purposes. Through them, they seek to reach an ever-increasing number of users and implement digital traps.
Instagram and TikTok at work
Considering the access patterns in the country, accessing content on Instagram and TikTok is very harmful. Besides being a major enemy of productivity in the workplace, it can also facilitate cyberattacks and create vulnerabilities for the company.
Even if the company has an Internet Access Policy that establishes the ideal expected behavior of employees, improper access can still occur during working hours. It is clear that there are essential resources for carrying out tasks, but certain pages like Instagram and TikTok can harm productivity, cause delays and distractions, among other problems.
Taking this into account, it is important for the company to use tools and strategies that contribute to blocking access to these platforms and prevent employees from being distracted by social media during working hours . The more assertive the organization's strategy for blocking social media, the better the productivity of the employees involved in their activities.
It is essential that employees understand the importance of adopting a proactive approach to avoid cyberattacks and ensure that company information remains confidential. In addition to this cultural shift, it is equally crucial to establish solutions that help increase productivity and prevent cybersecurity issues that could affect the smooth operation and growth of the company.
Time spent on social media at work
According to research by Comscore, Brazilians ranked third in the number of hours spent browsing social media. Data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2022 and 2023 showed that Brazilians spend about 53% of their lives browsing the internet , with a significant portion of that time wasted on social media.
Considering the amount of time a user spends awake, this staggering number of hours spent browsing the internet can coincide with their work hours. In this sense, social media has become a major villain for companies in all sectors.
More and more users are using social media extensively, a factor that is detrimental to their productivity and the results expected by their managers. For this reason, companies are seeking alternatives to block certain tools during working hours and prevent their employees from being distracted during this period.
The use of social media at work and its impact on productivity.
When access to social media is completely unrestricted within companies, there is a significant risk of decreased productivity among workers. Although access to social media may be considered harmless, many employees fail to perform essential tasks due to distractions caused by these platforms.
We know that the internet is an essential tool for carrying out various activities in the workplace. However, this tool must be used intelligently and strategically so that certain resources do not create more problems than solutions.
Except in cases where certain tools are essential for carrying out daily activities, such as email and WhatsApp, for example, it is important for managers to adopt solutions that help block unnecessary resources . Examples include social networks, gaming and betting platforms , entertainment websites, violent or pornographic content, streaming platforms, and others.
Do Instagram and TikTok threaten the digital security of your business?
Besides being unnecessary for most tasks within a company, social media also represents a real risk to information security. Just as cybercriminals take advantage of other resources in the digital environment to facilitate cyberattacks, social media is also an unreliable environment.
Numerous types of scams are already being used on these platforms, such as fake online stores and the unauthorized collection of information. Many cybercriminals take advantage of users' naiveté and lack of attention to steal information and facilitate the installation of malicious applications on company devices.
By sending links containing malware or viruses, these cybercriminals end up deceiving users and companies in a very simple way. Contamination by this type of file can represent much more than just an unwanted program on the company's device. There are applications, such as spyware , that can monitor activities performed within devices and steal very valuable information for the organization.
Be careful with data security.
It is common for cybercriminals to use fake profiles to provide malicious links that trick users into infecting their devices with viruses and malware. Therefore, Instagram and TikTok pose a real risk to data security within your company. Depending on your business sector, there is stored information that can be stolen, and its leakage can cause losses to its owners and to the organization.
The General Data Protection Law establishes fundamental protocols and paradigms for organizations to protect the data stored by companies. Failure to comply with the rules established by the legislation may result in security breaches and substantial fines.
Investing in security tools that can monitor traffic and prevent contamination by viruses and malicious applications is pointless if indiscriminate internet access fosters the creation of vulnerabilities in your company's networks and devices.
How to block Instagram and TikTok?
The good news is that it's now possible and very simple to block social media on your company's networks in a simplified way. Through Lumiun DNS your company will be able to block tools such as social networks, e-commerce sites, pages with pornographic or violent content, and much more. This will allow your company to prevent indiscriminate access from causing cybersecurity problems within your organization.
This tool ensures control, security, and assertive monitoring of internet access within the company. In addition to blocking Instagram and TikTok, Lumiun Lumiun DNS also allows for the application of web content filters and access monitoring through artificial intelligence.
To verify the effectiveness of the filters, you can monitor the logs in real time:
Furthermore, with the goal of making the internet more democratic and promoting a relaxed work environment, Lumiun Lumiun DNS offers customizable blocking times. In other words, it's possible to allow access to Instagram and TikTok at specific times. This is important considering that, often, the manager's objective is not to prohibit use, but rather to reduce access to these platforms.
Lumiun Lumiun DNS has a low-latency infrastructure and allows for optimized website filtering. Therefore, thanks to these advantages, it can be a true ally in your organization's security strategy.
