FAD -Facebook Addiction?

This piece here is subject to change - hopefully will be published in Nerve* Magazine.


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Do you have FAD?

Facebook Addition Disorder. Do you have it? Since the release of The Social Network, Facebook seems even more unstoppable. It starts with just checking your notifications, then a sneaky peek at what your friend’s new boyfriend or girlfriend looks like (admit it – we’ve all done it!

But has your problem escaladed? Do you find that hours have gone by and all you’ve done it repeatedly hit the refresh homepage button?

These symptoms of FAD include:

• Putting off important work to be trawling through random people’s photos.
• Access on your mobile phone – checking whenever you have a spare moment or two.
• If you fall out with your boyfriend /girlfriend and its official once he relationship status has changed.
• You get frustrated if you cannot find the person you are searching for
• You have hundreds perhaps nearing thousands of friends – but how many of them would you genuinely want to stay in touch with?
• You make a point of checking your Facebook just before going to bed – even if it is 4am and you can barely type in your password correct. 

Following the recent ‘Unplugged’ challenge where approximately 400 students were invited to take part in spending 24 hours without media. Facebook was one of the most missed aspects of the challenge. If that doesn’t grab your attention well maybe The Ohio Report will shock yourself with the fact that students who use Facebook have a “significantly” lower grade in US universities than those who did not use the site. For those of you who have come to terms with your problem here are my ‘self help tips’ for keeping you off Facebook and onto that assignment…. At least until the work is done!

Stage One:

Admitting you have a problem. For most of you reading this you probably already recognise that many hours spent social networking could have been spend either doing work, or maybe even socialising in real life? – Just a suggestion!

Stage Two:

Have a Facebook mission. Most of us log on to send someone a message, or check our notifications, but once you’ve done that STOP RIGHT THERE!

O.k. you’ve done what you came to do so this is your que to exit.

Stage Three:

I can’t get off Facebook. O.k. I’ll admit, saying and doing are two completely different tasks. I have personally found that when I get back from a lecture; don’t even turn on your computer. Or failing that don’t use the Internet at all. This may not be possible for all assignments but if you’re like me, you assure yourself that your just keeping it open in case someone needs to get hold of you. IF IT’S THERE YOU'LL LOOK AT IT!

Stage Four.

Make a schedule. We all know the certain times of the day when people are more likely to be online, or when you are more likely to knuckle down and get some work done. Here is your chance to have a bit of Facebook time and actually get some work done too. Happy faces all round.

Stage Five.

Quit Facebook. If you find you are at this stage, then you either have a serious medical addiction (I mean I am actually a tad worried for you) or you don’t really have an addiction, which make me think do you really need to follow these steps?

Hopefully this will help of you addicts there shaking back and forth till your next fix – or if not maybe Facebook group would grab your attention more?