• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, May 8, 2012

KitKat’s advertising message has always centered around the idea of giving the hapless, stressed-out worker a “break” in the form of delicious, chocolate-covered wafers. Now KitKat maker Nestle is extending the concept to providing social network users with a “social” break, wherein KitKat shoulders the burden of staying constantly connected with everyone in your social network by posting random, spurious updates to social networks at random.

The Social Break app, created by JWT Singapore and targeting the Asian youth market, is a widget that users can download for free and activate on their PC, laptop, or mobile device. As the site explains, Social Break “spares you the pressures of hitting the Like, Re-tweet or Share button every time you are tagged in a post. Simply turn on the widget, log into your social media accounts and tune out from the stress of social networking whenever you feel you need a break.”

The KitKat widget will respond to social media tags by automatically “Liking” photos and check-ins which include the user; replying to Tweets with seemingly relevant (but random) responses; and sharing LinkedIn Posts from friends.

While the whole idea is obviously tongue-in-cheek, JWT said it stems from a genuine feeling of overload among younger social network users, as illustrated by the company’s survey of 900 19-26-year-olds in Singapore, China, and the U.S. Over half the respondents said it was too taxing to keep up with their various social media relationships, to the point that their social media obligations are interfering with jobs or schoolwork. 65% of Chinese respondents said they felt pressure to be in constant contact via social media, and 58% said social media obligations were stressing them out. 53% of U.S. respondents said they feel guilty if they don’t respond to a social media message immediately.