Causes and Effects of Addiction to Facebook
Facebook has become one of the most popular social networks and almost half of its users visit their pages every day. Some users get involved so much that they do not notice how they spend hours on Facebook leaving their businesses undone. Sometimes such people are so immersed into the virtual world that they do not have time for their real friends and family. Recently psychologists started to talk about new phenomenon, which they called FAD or Facebook Addiction Disorder. This term refers to the psychological state that is determined by and dependent on the time a person spends on Facebook communication. Facebook addict spends so much time on the website that the human healthy life balance is upset. This has negative influence on personality and other sides of social life. The disorder is characterized by 6 symptoms. People who suffer from FAD have at least 2 or 3 of the Facebook addiction signs during a long period of time, generally about 6-8 months. Firstly, an addict starts to spend much more time on the website and eventually comes to the point when it turns into obsessive dependence. An addict feels the need for a permanent presence on Facebook or otherwise there will not be feeling of life satisfaction. Secondly, an addict, withdrawing from social life, shows irritability, anxiety, feeling of depression and worry, obsession to talk to other people about Facebook, about messages that could have been sent while his absence and so on. Thirdly, one who suffers from FAD devotes catastrophically less time to personal communication with friends, sport activities and all other kinds of activities he used to do before. Actually, the whole life begins to be spent on many hours photos and profiles browsing. An addict will rather prefer not to meet with the friends in café, but to send messages on Facebook. There will be virtual chat instead of celebration dinner. Fourthly, an addict will depend on virtual datings. Instead of visiting party, movie etc., Facebook addicts tell their partner what time they will be online. Fifthly, there is a simple text: if 8 in 10 people on Facebook page are strangers, one user has no idea who they are and he has never seen them in real life, then he cannot deny he has serious problems with FAD. Last of all, when meeting new people, right after saying the name, Facebook addicts say their new “friend”: “I will talk to you on Facebook”. Any messages or other requests they get make them feel excitement that reminds the state of gaming addicts during the roulette or poker game. They create Facebook profiles even for their pets. However, though more often young people are addicted, mature people become addicted more seldom. We also noticed that Facebook is often used by people who are concerned with certain obsessions. Probably it happens because it is easier and more comfortable for them to communicate in a social network than in real life. On the contrary, ambitious people and people with good self-discipline and selforganization are less likely to become Facebook addicted. Holistic personality considers that social media is an integral part of the work and / or Internet-experience, no more than that.
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