Facebook has been an addiction for active users since creator Mark Zuckerberg launched it in his Harvard University dorm room in February 2004.
Now six years later, more than 500 million people worldwide have become members of the social networking site.
Each month more than 700 billion minutes are spent chatting, posting or scrolling on Facebook making it the second most visited website in the world today.
“Facebook has allowed [students] to maintain connections with family and friends who aren’t so close,” said Scott Paine, chair of the University of Tampa department of communication. “But it can be a distraction.”
Paine understands the allure. He created a profile of his own and admitted to friending his high-school sweetheart and catching up with her after many years of no contact.
Facebook Addiction Disorder
Sophomore writing major Amber Koski is one of many UT students who have trouble working when Facebook is up.
“I have to unplug my computer if I have to get homework done,” Koski said. “You can easily spend four hours on Facebook and not even realize it…. It’s a disease.”
According to studies conducted by clinical and school psychology researcher Michael Fenichel, Koski is right. U.S. psychologists have even introduced the term Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) into the national lexicon, referring to those
who have allowed their lives to be controlled by the social networking site.
“The irony of who is most pathologically addicted . . . is that nobody may be left to observe or treat this huge behavioral phenomenon,” Fenichel said. “Everybody is too focused on walls, apps, networks and finding old and new friends.”
Psychologist Lynlee Howard-Payne agrees. “Universities, schools and companies are forced to limit accessibility to Facebook because some people seem to be unable to perform other tasks if they have access to this online social network,” said Howard-
Payne, a lecturer at South Africa’s University of Witwatersrand.
“While Facebook is often a great way of maintaining both social and professional relationships, it seems to take on a destructive force with certain personalities.”
Ultimately, what is it that makes the website so addicting?
Facebook is available 24/7 anywhere the Internet is accessible. Because of this, it is easy to be distracted and even obsessed by its constant availability.
Chatting with friends in the comfort and privacy of home adds a convenience factor, combining the opportunities to relax and socialize in one place.
A More Productive Fix
Launching and maintaining a Facebook presence may seem attractive, but sometimes students use the social networking source to a point that it negatively affects their education.
“Facebook addiction is not healthy,” Paine said. “What good are you doing for yourself, and what are you accomplishing [when being addicted to Facebook]?”
Paine advises students to consider these questions the next time they find themselves choosing between the computer and the textbook- with hopes that Facebook addicts find a more productive “fix”.
Josh Napier can be reached at joshua.napier90@gmail.com.
