Facebook, The Addiction

People face possible addictions on a daily basis in many forms. Since the introduction of various new technologies such as mobile phones, personal computers and game consoles, people have been opened to a whole new realm of digital addiction. For many people they may consider these technologies as a part of daily life that can influence daily tasks offering many benefits.

Since the beginning of this digital age people have admitted to being addicted to different online sensations like casino sites. With social networking's highly popular rise over the past few years Facebook has been no different with users finding a certain obsession with this new online environment making it very difficult to get up and walk away from their computers.

The addiction hasn't been confined to just the younger age groups such as teenagers but instead can be seen to have had an effect on all age groups no matter what they're background, education or experience. Unbelievably a common occurrence when using public transport (train, tube etc) is for many people to have their heads down looking at mobile devices such as a mobile phone or ipad. Facebook is usually a common appearance when looking over the shoulder of some of these public transport users meaning that to some extent mobile technology could be reinforcing the addiction.

How does it begin?

In many ways Facebook could resemble a fad where many people are signing up because many of their friends have already done the same. Teenagers are especially encouraged by those around them meaning that it acts as a social standard to fit in. This type of behaviour was seen with the obsession of texting when mobile technology began to become more and more popular. With a social network such as Facebook it is very hard to avoid the need to join in with the crowd especially with the high number of people that are already taking part. It really can move attention away from other aspects of a persons life.

What is the effect?

Online addiction has always had some negative aspects where a person begins to depend on it a point where they begin to lose sleep or hardly eat. Here's some more:-

Desperate - People may find that they have a dependency on Facebook showing a desperate need to constantly review their feed etc. It leads to an increase in time spent online which can have a negative effect on what other activities that they should be doing instead.

Social - A reduction in time spent in the real world meeting with friends in a physical sense could be a thing of the past. These people would rather spend their time on Facebook talking to them over the messenger.

Language - Certain abbreviations that are sometimes used online can filter into the real world. For example, a person may use the word 'LOL (Laughing Out Loud)' to a scenario or event to show their humour instead of actually laughing.

Do any of these sound familiar?

The End Point Facebook is an amazing tool to keep in touch with friends but that is all it should remain, a TOOL. Beyond that the effect can be detrimental to a person.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mathew_Burns