Doctor Cage: “So what has been troubling you Jackie?”
Jackie: “I just can’t seem to concentrate…the urge to do it comes over me multiple times during the day.”
Doctor Cage: “Have you tried to keep yourself busy…you know make less time to indulge?”
Jackie: “Yes, I have but there just always seems like time to do it. Before I go to bed at least one more time. On the weekends if I don’t have time to…I miss it and wonder how I would feel doing it at the moment. I don’t know how I got to this point, or what’s come over me. Can you help me Doctor Cage?”
Doctor Cage: “I have to be straight forward with you about this…you’re an addict. You suffer from Facebook Addiction.”
*Any similarities to actual persons or situations are strictly coincidental and purely for entertainment/illustration purposes only.
Yes, folks he said it, “Facebook Addiction”. Some of your may be laughing and shaking your head in disbelief but more and more and people are heading to the couch of their local therapist and confessing their online addiction. Facebook for them is a way for them to escape from reality and engage in a fantasy world where everything is happy and nice. Doctors categorize behavior like this as a compulsion to disassociate.
Joanna Lipari, a clinical psychologist commented on Facebook’s addictive nature, “Facebook is a fun, pleasant, happy, beautiful world. People only present the crème de la crème of their lives on Facebook. And these people want to be your friends! It’s very seductive.”
Lipari and others are on to something. I have friends on Facebook who practically update their status every day. Then again what does this really say about my own usage since I know they update that often? Personally I think my Facebook habits are pretty harmless and probably that of the average Facebook user. If people access the site in moderation what harm is it really doing? Is it really any different than people listening to their iPod when bored? Or people who turn on the TV for background noise while they are trying to sleep or study? I think it’s all mindless absorption, a way to relive the mind of the follies of life. Now if a person starts neglecting important social responsibilities like their children, basic hygiene or work then it becomes a total different animal. Do you think this is a legitimate problem? Would you consider your usage of social networking sites to warrant concern?
Find out how close you are to addiction. Take the Facebook Compulsion Inventory.
Andrea Singleton said,
July 10, 2009 @ 11:27 am
I agree whole heartedly with this article. People have the need to feel loved and to feel wanted. Facebook allows for that opportunity. A lot of people get a false sense of security by having so many friends (many who they do not know personally). Facebook users repeatedly visit the site to continue receiving this heightened sense of security that they may not receive in the real world.
caldwelj said,
July 12, 2009 @ 7:20 pm
It also seems like it is also a contest for people to see how many friends they can get. I mean how can you possibly keep up with 500 people and I know some popular people but not anyone I could say that has 500 plus friends and really knows these people.
Micah said,
July 10, 2009 @ 11:33 am
I know many people who are addicted to facebook but are in denial. Thank you for exposing this fact to the masses.
Tarik said,
July 13, 2009 @ 12:59 am
While I am not surprised that this is happening it is, to me, quite alarming as well as appalling. I use Facebook and I enjoy it but I cannot see how any adult can allow it to take over their life. I think it is another symptom of this societies disconnect with reality and the need for some people to escape rather than actually face that reality. I think this is setting the stage for more problems as this issue grows and people forget how to interact with other people face to face. I truly believe that it is this disconnect that has helped to fuel many of the mass shootings, because people don’t deal with others face to face they began to view others as objects on a screen rather than living breathing people and some find it that much simpler to kill others. I think that this addiction to social networking sites has to be dealt with, before we see cases of sever child neglect and god only knows what else because people refuse to face the world.
Kendrick said,
July 13, 2009 @ 12:43 pm
This really comes at no suprise. Facebook is everywhere. Most smart phones have an application for Facebook. If not, Facebook Mobile is accessable to every cell phone. It’s funny yet sad.
Tanisha said,
July 14, 2009 @ 12:30 am
I agree…I too am addicted to Facebook, but I can honestly say that I personally know everyone that I am friends with. I don’t think many people can say that.