Issue Date: 11/16/09
You're a Facebook addict if...
By Graianne Ward
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There are several people out there who could have Facebook Addiction Disorder. I am sure a few of my friends do, and you could even be sitting next to an addict as you read this.
FAD is a serious disorder, defined as a psycho-physiological disorder involving tolerance; withdrawal symptoms; affective disturbances; and interruption of social relationships, according to Idris Mootee's article "Are You Suffering from Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD)?" on futurelab.net.
According to Mootee, there are a few ways to tell if you fit the mold of a Facebook junkie.
At least two or three of these scenarios must be present within a six to eight-month period.
• Tolerance: it takes more and more time online to get your fix. Multiple windows being open at the same time is a clear sign.
• Any withdrawal causes distress, anxiety, impairs social/personal/occupational functioning, and constant worrying of what is written on your Facebook wall.
• All things socially important are abridged or done on Facebook. You post your friends messages instead of calling them to cancel a dinner date, and try to wean your parents onto Facebook so they'll stop calling that phone you don't answer anymore.
• When sweet caresses, kisses, and intimate dates are all online something is seriously wrong.
• When you don't know 8 out of 10 people in your friends list, you should worry.
• When you meet people and leave them saying "see you on Facebook" or your dog has a profile. Or if you get a gambler's high whenever you get notifications and invites then it's time to get help.
According to a CNN article dated Oct. 22, out of 935 teens polled, 38 percent of respondents ages 12 to 14 said they had an online profile of some sort.
Sixty-one percent of those in the study, ages 12 to 17, said they use social-networking sites to send messages to friends, and 42 percent said they do so every day.
Even 5 year olds use KidsSwirl, Disney's Club Penguin, WebKinz, and Whyville. They may spend no more than five minutes online, but they are already getting addicted to the toxic formula Facebook and Myspace have concocted.
As of yet, there is no cure for FAD - no subscription a doctor could write so people can get hooked on more pharmaceutical drugs - but there are a few things you can do to try and rid yourself of the succubus known as Facebook.
Less is more
The longer you stay away from the computer the more popular you seem. If you're not on there for three days, when you come back you'll look like a rock star.
Time yourself
Get a stopwatch or an alarm clock and set it for an hour. Turn the clock on when you go onto Facebook, and if you get off before the hour is up, pause the clock. When you go back on again, start the clock. When it buzzes, you are done for the day, no "just one more message" or any of that mess. Discipline!
Live in the real world
Sometimes life isn't what we want it to be, so we lose ourselves in a virtual reality where nagging lovers and parents are silenced with a click on an X, babies don't cry and all your wishes come true.
But not all of life is bad. Join clubs, sign up for sports or hang out with friends. You can dance in your chair to your favorite song but is it really as much fun as when someone is dancing with you?
Don't let Facebook ruin your life, your marriage, your sleep or anything else that may be important to you.
Yes, it's a wonderful way to reconnect with people and stay in touch with those you forgot about or those you want to get to know, but there is a small dusty line between something excellent and something ghastly; and it's a line that shouldn't be crossed.
Facebook addiction is a real thing. People should measure how much time they spend on it, and then ask themselves if it is healthy.
If you have a problem, seek immediate help from a mental health professional.
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