Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - By this summer, there will be a billion people using Facebook. It’s a safe bet that some people go overboard and can’t log off.
But can it be an addiction?
A new study shows that the pull of checking one’s Facebook page can be more powerful than addiction to alcohol or cigarettes. Social scientists call it FAD – Facebook Addiction Disorder. They say upwards of 350 million people suffer from the condition.
Syracuse University graduate assistant Alyssa Henry says it wasn’t easy to quit Facebook cold turkey.
“I’ve been off Facebook for about two months now – I’ve been Facebook clean,” she said. "It was really hard the first two weeks…it was a real challenge."
Syracuse University iSchool student Chris Becker attributes the fixation to eagerness to interact with other people.
“I think we’re addicted to human interaction,” he said. “And the easiest way right now is Facebook…Twitter…things like that.”
Another student, Gwynnie Frey, noted that there is an element of gratification in the kind of communication involved in social media.
“The gratification we get when we get a message on Facebook or Twitter is very exciting…someone is interested in me,” she said.
While Facebook may be an obsession and its overuse a disorder, calling it an addiction might be going a bit too far. Upstate Medical University has yet to see a patient admitted with “Facebook addiction.”
“We have a very busy addiction service and not one person has come in for Facebook addiction,” said Dr. Brian Johnson said. “You can go overboard with TV watching, with golf, with watching football all day…and you can go overboard with Facebook, but it’s not an addiction.”
Nevertheless, many users feel a compulsion to check in on their Facebook page periodically.
"There is such a thing as being too connected, and I think I was showing symptoms of that..I feel like when you go on the computer and you can't help but log into Facebook…maybe it’s time to take a little break,” Henry said.
If you or someone you know is going overboard with their Facebook obsession, there is help in the form of a web application that will usually shut off your computer after you have spent a pre-determined amount of time on the social site.
