Facebook Addiction Part 1: Are You Addicted to Facebook?

While health professionals have yet to authenticate an addiction to Facebook (or create a set of criterion by which to diagnose a person with a Facebook addiction), Facebook users seem to agree that Facebook addictions exist!

In fact, a recent study conducted by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research (published by Mashable) claims that 39% of Facebook users are self-proclaimed “addicts” to the social networking site!

The study further reveals that 1/3 of women between the ages of 18 to 34 check Facebook first thing in the morning—and if that doesn’t convince you—57% of women talk to people online more than face-to-face!

While there is no clinical diagnosis for a Facebook addiction, check out this “quiz” as a way to measure just how addicted to Facebook YOU are!

1. Are you losing sleep over Facebook?

It’s easy to spot a TV addiction: A person unintentionally and inadvertently stays up late watching TV because they’re hooked and keep telling themselves “just one more show.”

A similar approach can be used to look into a potential Facebook addiction. Do you accidentally stay up till 2 a.m. while perusing Facebook? Do you spend hours just looking through photos or status updates without even noticing the time? If you answered yes, you could have a Facebook addiction.

2. How much time a day do you spend on Facebook?

The general consensus is that a person does not need to spend more than 1 hour a day on Facebook; how many hours do YOU spend on Facebook?

It’s hard to gauge how long you spend on Facebook since most people go on for about 5 minute intervals throughout the day, however, you should try to tally how many times you sign on and the average length of your activity.

You may be surprised how much time you are actually wasting each day on Facebook alone.

3. Do you feel closer to friends who are really “acquaintances?”

The weird thing about Facebook is that you get a rare insight into a persons personal life. People who are acquaintances may seem like close friends thanks to the influx of information you know about them!

Ask yourself how often you browse a friend/former flames profile page and compare it to your “real life relationship.”

Example: If you go to Rachel Q.’s page once a day, but don’t have her phone number, have never written on her wall beyond the obligatory “Happy Birthday,” and never hang out—then you have a problem!

4. Can you not go on Facebook for 24 hours?

This is  a question people ask alcoholics: “Can you go a day without drinking alcohol?” If the answer is no, then chances are you have a problem! Of course, you don’t know the REAL answer until you try!

It’s very possible to incorrectly answer the questions above and underestimate the amount of time you spend on Facebook each day, so as a fool proof way to test your claims, try to stay off Facebook for a day.

Tell yourself you won’t log on Facebook (or check it with your phone) for a whole day and see how long you can go without doing so.

Remember: Don’t freak out about a potential Facebook addiction if you catch yourself spending three hours on one idle Tuesday afternoon; its when you can’t pull yourself away from your computer that you have a problem!