How to know if you are a Facebook addict
by Leigh Goessl
In recent years Facebook has become one of the top social networking websites on the web. What started off as a college networking site soared in popularity and spread to the rest of the Internet community. Today Facebook has an astonishing 500 million members, is the most popular and every day members log in to network and/or get reacquainted with family, friends, classmates or colleagues.
Ever since the Internet became a novelty back in the early to mid 1990s, computer addiction has risen and become a serious social issue. Nowadays the web has evolved so much from those early days, it has become a lot more than just being addicted to the Internet; people are addicted to interaction and ability to connect with other people on a large scale.
Enter social networking addiction, and later more specifically, a Facebook addiction.
Today many Facebook members have become addicted to the website and the many features it offers. There is the connecting and ability to learn more about people. No longer do members play any guesswork or fill in their own blanks on the attributes of anonymous Internet chat sounding names, such as the ones you would see on MySpace. The lives of many people are essentially an open book.
Facebook enthusiasts are able to see real information about people and learn more about those the individuals they know or meet on the website. In addition to the information for the viewing, there are games, videos, virtual gifts, quizzes and pretty much any virtual activity all in one space. People can virtually entertain themselves without ever having to leave the Facebook site, and no wonder so many have become addicted. It is a one stop all website, even businesses are connecting on Facebook. Usually the Facebook addict is probably the last to realize they have an addiction.
If you think you might be addicted, it is a good idea to ask yourself a few questions to see if you have a problem. Even if you answer "yes" to some or all of the below questions, you may not be an addict, but if you are truthful with yourself, you'll be able to recognize when there is a problem.
• Do you constantly log into your Facebook page or never log out?
There is often a fine line between habit and addiction. Just logging in or staying logged in all day doesn't necessarily point to an addiction, but it could. Addiction usually means you're checking your page and interrupting work or anything else frequently throughout the day to check Facebook.
• Do you repeatedly check your page constantly throughout the day?
As indicated above, this may point towards an addiction. If you are checking your page a large percentage of the day instead of working, tending to home or school matters and basically dropping everything else to check your Facebook page, this could mean you're addicted.
For instance, if you are changing your status several times a day to update or constantly checking the statuses of others, visiting your favorite games for just "one more round" or spending the day taking meaningless quizzes and sending virtual gifts, this could indicate a Facebook addiction.
• Are you always looking for an Internet connection no matter where you are or what you're doing so you can check your page? Do you forward your Facebook messages to your cell phone?
The Facebook addict tends to spend the day trying to get online. If they can't get to a computer and Internet connection, they likely have all their Facebook messages sent to both their e-mail account and their cell phone.
This feature where users can link their cell phone to their Facebook account may indicate an addiction. Anytime there is an update the member receives a message on their cell phone. There is nothing wrong with using this feature, but it is time consuming if you tend to immediately respond from your cell phone and drop other things you're doing in order to do so.
• Do you know more about what's going on with your Facebook buddies than you do with your family or close friends in your offline life?
If you've reached the point where you're isolated from your family and friends, this could indicate a sign of addiction. For instance if you're neglecting outings or telephone calls from friends and loved ones in favor of checking Facebook, this may indicate an issue.
When you know more of what's going on with someone you've never met or someone you haven't seen in 20 years, this is not a good thing. If you can't recall the last time you went out with friends or talked on the phone with them, but you remember every detail of your Facebook interactions, this also could be leaning towards an addiction.
Facebook members who are addicted typically find themselves obsessing with increasing the number of names on their friend list. This means it's probable an inordinate amount of time is spent cruising profiles looking for other Facebook members to befriend.
• Do you have Facebook on the brain most of the day and find your mind wandering to what's going on and this disrupts your train of thought with other important facets of life?
Facebook on the brain is a telltale sign of addiction. Addicts to the site tend to constantly think about their Facebook life all through the day. If they are online they are checking and refreshing the page. If they are offline, they're either thinking or talking about things happening on Facebook. When an Internet connection isn't possible, there may even be a sense of anxiety when not logged in for more than short periods of time.
If you answered yes to most or all of these questions or see yourself in some of these scenarios, there is a possibility you might be addicted to Facebook. This is especially true if Facebook interrupts your daily routine and you can't complete anything else you need to do because you are too busy checking Facebook. A recent survey indicated a high percentage of women are addicted to Facebook and check their feeds even before using the bathroom in the morning, or get up at night to check their accounts.
The surefire way to tell if you are addicted is to simply cut yourself loose from the site for a couple of days. Do you find yourself unable to not compulsory log in or do you simply resort back to doing other things in life that you did before Facebook?
If it is the former, you might want to consider you have a Facebook addiction problem, but if it is the latter you might just have a Facebook habit.