Are You Addicted to Facebook?

Facebook addiction disorder is truly a recent phenomenon.

Unarguably the most popular social networking site on the planet at present with more than 1 billion active users, the site provides an environment which is so enticing that pressing the “Log out” button becomes virtually impossible.

I hate to admit it but since I make a living online and spend a good part of my waking hours online, Facebook is always open in one of the tabs though I am “offline” on chat most of the time. Like a true Facebook addict, I must go to see the latest notifications, friend requests and messages in my Inbox in the middle of composing an email or writing for a client.

Not that I do not feel guilty for having wasted my time, but the temptation is just too great to resist!
Very recently, my 15 year old son sent me the link to this you tube video after he saw this with a message, “Mom, I’m serious…you need this!”

It was then that I started wondering whether I am becoming a Facebook addict??

I’m sure I am not the only one afflicted with this disorder!

Experts now confirm that 1 out of every 5-6 users are now addicted to Facebook.

What is Facebook Addiction Disorder?

Facebook addiction disorder was defined by a renowned behavioral scientist to refer to

“the condition when a person spends unduly long hours on this networking site in a manner that affects his productivity at work and the degree and/or quality of his interaction with people around him.”

Most of us create a Facebook profile to be able to stay in touch with friends, family and acquaintances. Slowly and steadily, the games, photo sharing, chat and, of late, video call, etc. get the better of our judgment.

By the time we realize that we realize that we are getting addicted to Facebook, it is usually too late to give it up. Out of a billion users, nearly 350 million are self-confessed Facebook addicts.

Facebook Addiction Disorder Symptoms

A person is said to be a Facebook addict if he shows at least 4-5 of the symptoms mentioned below:

•  He feels something is amiss till he checks his profile at least once every 1-2 hours.

•  A day is incomplete without 4-5 status updates.

• He starts avoiding actually meeting people or talking to them while preferring to chat to them or Inbox them.

• More than half the friends on his Friends list are people whom he has not met in real life, and does not know personally either.

• He has a Facebook profile even for his pet dog/ cat.

• If he needs to click pictures of yourself even if he is visiting the coffee shop in the neighborhood only for the sake of uploading them to Facebook later.

• He can be approached more easily via his Inbox than by calling at his phone.

• One night before the exam, he considers it more important to update his friends by saying,Only God can save me from total disaster tomorrow. Still 3 more chapters to be covered out of 5 :( , rather than opening his books.

• He has more than 1 Facebook profile.

• He is friends with his kid/ parent/ spouse/ next door neighbor and chats online to them!

• He uses fake profile pictures to make himself appear more ‘cool’.

• He checks on the notifications and messages or comments on his friends pictures even in the loo!

• The first thing he does after getting up in the morning is turn on the lappy or check his smartphone to see what his friends were upto while he slept.

• He feels dejected on days when he does not get a single new friend request or message.

• He feels that he must, as a part of his social obligations, LIKE or comment on his friends’ pictures even if he does not actually like them.

Facts about Facebook Addiction Disorder:

Here are a few more interesting facts about Facebook addiction:

1.        You do not have to fall in a particular age group to be a Facebook addict. Teens and parents, moms and mom in laws. The addiction ‘transcends’ all barriers of age.
2.   Not only age, it is rampant all over the world, cutting across borders and boundaries. Deadly virus indeed!
3. In some South Asian countries, Facebook addiction disorder has already been accepted as a clinical disorder.
4.  Serious Facebook addicts have been known to have a shorter span of attention and lack of ability to concentrate.
5.  Highly addicted people get a ‘kick’ when they see notifications, friend requests and messages in their Inbox.

They experience a high similar to one human beings are known to get from the usage of dopamine (a chemical present in our bodies which is released in large quantities when we do something that truly thrills us like having sex, adventure sports, drugs, etc.). Those affected by the Facebook addiction disorder experience the same ‘high’ due to which it becomes difficult for the person in question to stay off this site.

While some of us know where to draw the line, there are some people for whom addiction assumes epic proportions and their normal life, day to day activities, work and personal life start getting affected due to their ‘inability’ to log out.

Conclusion
Jokes apart, the question is that can and, more importantly, SHOULD cyber socializing be allowed to take over real life relationships?

How, then, do we draw a line between ‘usage’ and ‘addiction’?

Experts say the first step to solving this problem is admitting to it.

It is time people make a conscious effort to detox themselves, even if they have to go through withdrawal symptoms initially.

I also tried deactivating my account. But like a truly obsessed person, I started missing out on those witty one-liners my friends put up as their status updates and the comments that follow, my Lexulous buddies besides, of course, the chance to pry into my ex’s personal life  through mutual friends! I was back to it after 3 days during which I almost felt like a fish out of water.

But yes. I have been making a determined effort to control both the number of times and the duration of time I check in on my profile. And, believe me, it has helped!

Tongue-in-cheek:

Even as I am writing this, I am logged in to Facebook. And immediately after I am done with publishing this, the first thing I will do is JUST CHECK my profile once….

Do you think I am a Facebook addict and I need to see a doctor for my Facebook addiction disorder?

Please share your experiences with us here if you are a part of the bandwagon!

The more, the merrier