Guest Post: Is Facebook A Serious Addiction?

It’s been a while since we had a guest post from our friends over at Faronics so we thought it was high we brought you one. This post comes courtesy of Nimritta Parmar.

Most people have joked about being addicted to Facebook at one time or another, but it may have more truth to it then we’d like to think!

A new study shows that the need to check Facebook meets, and often even surpasses the desire for alcohol and cigarettes.

Social networking sites have made it easier for us to contact one another. We have easy access to our friends and family even when we’re not under the same roof. But you know it’s getting bad when you start Facebook messaging your sister who is sitting upstairs. (Guilty!) It’s becoming second nature to us. We don’t call or tell people things in person as much as we post on their wall, or inbox them.

It’s easy to let Facebook get in the way of your everyday life, whether you’re at work, at school, or trying to do homework. (I have recently taken to checking Facebook in between each paragraph I write.) I’m beginning to see students get their friends to change their passwords for them during exam time. It seems extreme, but what would it take for you to stop logging on?

One of the reasons for this new “epidemic” may be an increased access to the Internet. How many times have you updated your status from your Blackberry, or uploaded a photo from your iPhone? It’s easy to quickly update your friends on what you’re doing, where you are, and what triumphs or catastrophes’ have occurred that day.

Don’t feel bad folks, an estimated 350 million people are guilty of this addiction.  Just don’t forget to check in with the real world every once in a while.