Is Facebook an Addiction?

Has the most widely used and known social networking site, Facebook connects literally millions of people worldwide. Although not its intention, this connection can leave people almost too connected in the sense that they are always connected to the network and essentially, depending on your view of the amount of hours spent on Facebook, waste a large amount of time on the website. Almost half of Facebook's users visit the website every day and some of its users spend an inordinate amount of time on Facebook allowing the hours of the day to slip away. Facebook has become such a part of people lives that some would say that it is an addictive behavior.

A simple Google search of the term ‘Facebook Addiciton,’ brings up numerous sites specifically dedicated to a perceived Facebook addiction. There is facebookaddiction.com, fbaddiction.org and thefacebookaddiction.com. While "Facebook addiction" or "Facebook addiction disorder" are not medically approved terms, the reality of addictive behaviors on Facebook are a growing problem for many Facebook users and the psychology field is beginning to weigh in whether there is a true Facebook Addiction. Michael Fenichel, an American psychologist, believes that it is such a problem that he’s even introduced a new term to describe such an addiction: Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD). He claims that this is a condition that is defined by hours spent on Facebook, so much time in fact that the healthy balance of the individual’s life is affected

Social networking is an unbelievable tool, but the reality is that more and more, social networking has become part of life in the 21^st Century. It keeps you in contact with old friends and family, it helps grow new friendships, but one could certainly spend too much time on Facebook. So take a step back and ask yourself “Do I spend too much time on Facebook?” Because chances are that you might.