Facebook Addict

Do you lose sleep just because of spending so much time on Facebook?

OR

Do you think about Facebook even when you are offline?

Yes? According to Elizabeth Cohen, a CNN Senior Medical Correspondent, you might very well be what she calls as a "Facebook Addict"


Facebook

Facebook is one of the most or if not, the most addictive social phenomena ever. You may also think you are simply just a casual user but as we all know, the hallmark of any addiction is the presence of denial. Facebook basically allows people to stay connected with one another. People can express themselves through their profile by stating their activities, interests, favorite music, etc. Facebook allows people to become so open with one another that we can begin to become addicted to it. Even recently based on Facebook's very own Press Room, Statistics amazingly showed..

• More than 500 million active users to date (2011)
• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• Average user has 130 friends
• People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
  
  
  insidefacebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Facebook400Million-500x347.png
  
  400 million users in just 7 years?? Believe it.
  
  

Pros to Facebook

1. Facebook is a great way to connect with your real life friends online. It helps you to keep in touch with long lost friends. Friends or family living in another country could also be easily connected.
   
   
2. You can play many different games and use many different applications.
   
   
3. You can make many new like minded friends by joining various groups.
   
   
4. You get to share your favourite music or videos with your friends.

Cons to Facebook

1. Your photos could be misused.
   
   
2. You will waste many hours because Facebook is addictive for most people.
   
   
3. Your friends may tag you on photos that you do not want others to see.
   
   
4. Facebook can cause jealousy. According to a study from the University of Guelph, Canada, the more time you spend on Facebook, the more likely you are to feel jealous.

Clues that you might just be a Facebook Addict :

http://humour-fun.net/photos/840.png

• Are you are spending more than an hour on Facebook ?
  
  
• Are you feeling guilty about something but chose to visit Facebook instead ?
  
  
• Did you give up familiar activities such as sports, homework or going out with friends?
  
  
• Are you changing your profile picture over and over again?
  (This is considered to be the earlier signs of addiction)
  
  

• "If you're not doing your job in order to sneak time on Facebook, you could have a real problem." - Joanna Lipari, a clinical psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles who was interviewed for a CNN report
  
  

Ways to overcome Facebook Addiction :


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1. Admit that you are an addict
   
   - By acknowledging your problem, you can actually move on and proceed to overcoming this addiction. Yes you can !
   
   
2. Keep yourself away from the computer
   
   - Ask yourself, do you really need to spent so much time on the computer? Instead of this you could actually hit the gym, go shopping(you could actually lose calories while shopping!), play some sports or even hang out with friends. After all, those suggestions are more healthy in lifestyle.
   
   
3. Turn off email notifications
   
   - How many times have we received an email notification "Email from Facebook" while chatting on MSN? Notifications are like little devils inviting you to Facebook every single time. Turn the notification off. You don’t need to be notified every time someone sends you a message, do you? If it was that important, they would have definitely called you or sent you a direct message by phone.
   
   
4. Set a time limit for visiting Facebook
   
   -For example, you could give yourself the first 20 minutes of the work day you check all your updates and then not log on for the rest of the day. Or you might decide that the last 30 minutes of work is Facebook time as a reward for a long day of super productive work.
   
   
   
5. Deactivating your Facebook Account
   
   -Many of my friends were addicted to Facebook as well and from what some have told me, deactivating their accounts have definitely benefited them. One of them, Winston, told me that by deactivating, it gave him a mentality that Facebook did not exist to him anymore and helped him focus on other beneficial doings.
   
   
   
   Interview :
   
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyoWLc0vEi8
   
   

An interview held in the United States of America about Facebook and it's affect on our generation.

Before i go, I'd like to take this opportunity to leave you with a food for thought..

Did you know..
Syria, China, Vietnam, and Iran have banned Facebook !

So, say if Singapore were to one day ban Facebook, will we be able to survive ?

Feel free to drop your comments and let me know your thoughts about Facebook addiction!

Thank you!