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My Final Story: Think You’re Addicted to Facebook? Think again!

By: Lauren Stewart (Please do not copy or steal).

It is 3 a.m. Her Dell computer screen glows and taunts the word “Facebook”. Alyssa Wirth sits closely in the dim light, perched at her desk, scrolling her mouse up and down, up and down.

“Nothing new!” she retorts and gets out of her chair, fed up, only to return five minutes later to check again. She goes through pages and pages of her news feed, clicks through photo after photo of people she barely knows, and writes on all of her best friend’s walls.
Her eyes are bloodshot and she knows she should go to sleep, but the thought of missing something important from this social networking tool is overwhelming. She might miss a relationship crumbling that every one of her friends will be talking about two minutes after it happens. She might miss this week’s latest drama unfolding in the college web of social networking.
According to another self-proclaimed addict, Kathryn Hetrick, she spends about 35 hours on Facebook a week. Hours that could have been spent on homework or spending time with friends instead of looking them up on the Internet, she said.

“Sometimes I literally have to delete the bookmark on Firefox so I can get work done because I automatically click on Facebook every time I open my computer,” said Hetrick.

A high school student, Lauren Wirth, said she is on 24/7.

“I’m on when I get ready for school in the morning, during school and at night,” she said.

Surely everyone has a Facebook by now or at least knows something about it.
Facebook was started in 2004 by then Harvard College student, Mark Zuckerberg. In an article by The Harvard Crimson when Facebook was first created (then called thefacebook.com), Zuckerberg said this: “Everyone’s been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. I think it’s kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week.”
Now in 2010, Facebook has grown more than probably in even Zuckerberg’s wildest dreams. There have been books and a movie made about the website. And with 500 million users, from 13-year-olds to college students to grandmothers, are people just registered or actually addicted? Chances are a little bit of both.
A study published by the website Mashable and conducted by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research found one-third of women ages 18 to 34 check Facebook first thing in the morning, even before brushing their teeth or going to the bathroom. Shocked? Not me. I am ashamed to say I’ve done this. At times the first thought after waking up is powering on my computer and checking my email and my precious Facebook.
But are we really addicted to this tool of keeping in touch with our family and friends? Some colleges seem to think so.
Take Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania for example. They embarked on a whole 168 hours without all social media, including Facebook on campus.
“Access to these popular social media tools will be blocked from campus computers through the week. This is not a disciplinary exercise,” Provost Eric Darr said, “but an academic one. At the end of the week, students will write reflective essays about their time in social media exile.” This week without social media created some backlash, but it created another thing that Darr hoped it would: awareness.
One student realized how much they had been on social media. “I had my phone set to receive Facebook, texts, tweets — and ring — so I had to turn that off between 3 and 6 in the morning so I can actually sleep during that time,” Gio Acosta said. “If you don’t set the limits, it’s a 24-hour thing.”
So does a week without Facebook really create awareness?
Hetrick realized after a week without Facebook, perhaps she wasn’t addicted after all. When asked if she still felt addicted she said, “No, and after this experiment I no longer think I was. There were no ‘withdrawals’ or ‘urges’ to use it. I think I just realized that being ‘addicted’ is not the same as having nothing else to do on the Internet or being bored.”

Another college student felt the same.
“My feelings towards Facebook have changed quite a bit since I gave it up about a week ago. At the beginning I felt out of the loop and people would write on my wall to harass me because they knew I couldn’t go on. As the week went on, however, I seemed to become less worried about what was going on Facebook and would actually talk or seek out people to talk to more than just writing on their wall. I actually had conversations with people [it was usually about something that happened or I missed on Facebook or something gossipy, but I wasn’t going to the source [Facebook] what was causing so much drama]. By the end of the week I kind of forgot that I was even ‘off’ Facebook, I realized who I really talk/see to on a normal work/school week and the people that noticed I was gone sought out other ways of inviting me to a ‘get together’ or asking me a silly questions,” said Alyssa.
When I asked Lauren Wirth if she could ever give up Facebook again, she said, “No! Never! If I had to give Facebook up for a week again, I don’t think I could do it. Sadly, I’m still that addicted.”

So it seems like a small amount of people may actually be addicted to this website, most realize after logging off that they don’t need the website, they simply want it to keep in touch with people they don’t see on a regular basis.
Just like everything, there are two sides to the story. There are Facebook addicts and there are those who dislike Facebook or don’t use it often. Bob Wilson is one of the latter. He doesn’t believe that Facebook addiction exists.
“Some people get ‘addicted’ to all sorts of different stuff: reading, video games, meth, gambling. Lots of these so-called addictions are psychological addictions and some are just that people want to label stuff using official sounding words. Or like how we will call careful people ‘paranoid’. In reality, words like obsessed, addicted and paranoid are medical words that should be used by professionals. Instead, we all tend to throw them around as if we know what we’re talking about (but we don’t),” said Wilson.
When asked why he is not addicted, he replied, “Because I’m busy with a wife, two kids, slightly more than one job, and a mortgage. I have a lot of other cool things competing for my interests like my biking-all-winter hobby. And because I’m friends on Facebook with my supervisor and the couple who own the company I work for and if I did a bunch of Facebook at work, they would know and that would be bad.”

Another Facebook user said she recognizes Facebook as a useful tool, but doesn’t feel addicted to it.

“As far as personal use goes, I don’t feel ‘addicted’ to the website or feel uncomfortable when I don’t have access. I recognize it as a valuable tool in the success of my job and a convenient way to keep up with everything going on in my little world, which in the past couple years has exploded,” said Michelle Carpenter.

As Carpenter said, Facebook can be a useful tool in the world of business and politics, as it seems no business large or small is without a Facebook page to help promote their company.

According to Facebook statistics, there are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages), more than one million developers and entrepreneurs from more than 180 countries use Facebook as a marketing tool, the average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events, the average user creates 90 pieces of content each month, and more than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month.
Recent surveys have 205 of 538 members of Congress on Twitter accounts and 349 on Facebook. Whenever political seasons arise, you will find all of your favorite and most hated politicians on Facebook promoting their ideas.
So it appears that while people seem addicted and there are non-believers when it comes to Facebook addiction; I wanted to talk to psychologists who study hard to understand the human brain and know about actual addictions.
I spoke with a local, Michigan-based psychologist, Lawrence T. Wentworth, Ph.D., to see if he has encountered any developments on so-called Facebook addicts. While he said there has been no official diagnosis registered, he believes it does exist in this generation.
“Yes, this is something that many college students struggle with. The Internet is omnipresent. We can access from our cell phones now. It is very tempting to constantly check. Email alerts us when we have a Facebook message. Much like an anorexic who over-exercises, use of the Internet and Facebook in particular, seems harmless and socially acceptable. I was at a museum recently in Minnesota and a young couple logged on to Facebook on the free museum Mac to check Facebook while dining in the cafeteria,” said Wentworth.
Another Michigan based psychologist from Oakland University, James Franklin, Ph.D., has no interest in Facebook because he sees what kinds of problems it causes.
“I am not on Facebook. It seems like a waste of time. If someone desperately needs to know what I’m having for dinner, I shall inform them by more traditional means.”

Franklin also discussed that while he did not know anyone who specialized in Facebook addiction, it could be lumped into other issues.
“I don’t know anyone who specializes in dealing with Facebook-related problems. However, the problem appears to have much in common with other problems such as OCD and attachment difficulties and should be treatable by most trained therapists. Having said this, I imagine that cultivating a specialty of treating persons who are excessively involved with Facebook would prove to be a good way of building a successful practice, since so very many young people seem to manifest their insecurities through their Facebook activities,” said Franklin.
So it appears that there are many people out there who spend an excessive amount of time on Facebook. But the question remains: what are they addicted to?

Is it the constant updating news of their friends? Is it the pictures people post? Or is it the games that developers work so hard to promote on Facebook?
According to a study by the website All Facebook, “53% of users play games on Facebook and 19% say they are addicted to these games. A shocking 20% have paid cash for in-game benefits. This data translates into up to 265 million game users and 210 minutes of game time per gamer per month. That equals 927 million hours per month of collective game time. That’s 105,878 man-years’ worth of virtual farming (or poker playing, mob-bossing, and frontier conquering).”
According to Lo Bosworth, a former cast member on the television show “The Hills” on her website, The Lo Down, that posted the study, “If you’re anything like me, you barely knew that people actually played games on Facebook. Sure, I visit the site about three-hundred times a day, but that’s mostly to see who has gained weight since I last saw them, or which friend from high school has born a child with another friend from high school. Turns out simple cyber stalkers like me are a minority, and that 290 million Facebook gamers have taken over,” said Bosworth.
But what do other people have to say about why Facebook is so addicting?
“It is just really easy and accessible.  It feeds on our want to know about other people’s lives and nosing around in other people’s business.  It is addicting to some people because they can use it to live through other people or to get information about others lives.  It is an invasion of others privacy but no one really seems to care so it is very easy for us to get caught up in each others lives,” said Hetrick.

Alyssa said Facebook seems to be fueled on drama, at least for college kids.

“Facebook is addicting for the information you can find out with or about people instantly. It’s mostly silly and not being on it for a week kept me out of the drama pool and into a zone where girls usually aren’t [that is not being able to choose sides] biased. Which we know for girls is very hard to do with our big mouths. You can see pictures of people that you don’t normally get to see and it’s an outlet for connection with relatives, friends, and groups that you wouldn’t normally get to keep in touch with on a daily 24-hour basis. It is free, and available to anyone so it makes it really easy for people to catch on to as a fad, and I am sure in a few months maybe even years there will be something like this but better that people will move on to,” said Alyssa.

Alyssa also explained, “This week’s drama will be the same shit, different week. I guess I’m growing out of the, ‘he said, she said’ aspect and more into my little world of ‘real’ friends that actually matter and have an impact on my daily life. Facebook is nice, but it’s replaceable and for as big as it is, I guess I didn’t realize how little it affected me until I gave it up.”

Lauren even admitted she cheated a few times during the week off to post photos and check what her friends were posting.

“I feel Facebook is so addicting because everyone you know is on Facebook and it’s an easy way to keep in touch. In high school you always want to be in the loop of what’s going on so you don’t miss anything,” said Lauren.

“Facebook creates a buffer between people. It’s easier to say ‘I’m thinking about you’, ‘I miss you’, or, in my case, ‘Why didn’t you ever call me back after we had that really awesome date and you said you would call me again … sigh’,” said Carpenter.

Facebook addiction is even a source of humor and jokes on the Internet. Cracked.com, a humor website, did an article on Facebook addiction “rehab”, the fake account of a writer who decided to attend a rehab full of Facebook addicts.

“In 30 days, I’d learned that Facebook was one huge masturbatory time suck. I also learned techniques for dealing with the cravings. For instance, now when I want to play scrabble at three in the morning, instead of going online, I wake my wife and take out the board game. And if I want to play scrabble with someone I don’t know, I ask her to wear that wig and talk in a German accent. By the way, it turns out that that chick Natalie was my wife. I knew she looked kind of familiar. I just hadn’t seen a lot of her in the last two years, what with the HBN and social media-ing we were both engaging in,” said the writer Gladstone.
It seems that Facebook addiction is mostly a hoax. Perhaps Zuckerberg started all of this, wanting us to believe we are “addicted” to their website. It is no secret that Facebook is the best way to keep tabs on our friends, family, and others we’d like to know more about, but it seems no real addiction exists, contrary to many people’s beliefs. You can do just fine without being on Facebook 24/7.

“Thinking about it, we are really a narcissistic generation. When I wasn’t able to use Facebook, I was constantly thinking about how many people wrote on my wall or who commented on my pictures. We really aren’t addicted; we are just obsessed,” said Hetrick.

So if you think you’re addicted to this social media website, think again. Perhaps you’re just obsessed with it. It seems those that claimed they were addicted did just fine without going on the website for a whole week. Once you find a better way to spend your time, you should be free from your chains to Facebook and only check periodically. If you find you just can’t quit and have symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in relation to Facebook, perhaps you should seek professional help.
Alyssa thinks that everyone should take periodic breaks from being on Facebook so much.

“I definitely think people should do that. It seems to take over your life and you become immersed in other people’s lives and less immersed in your own. It’s an excuse to avoid your life in a chance to compare it to others and that’s a slippery slope to conforming to the masses,” she said.

New Facebook Design: Love it or Hate it?

Facebook has changed again. The night before the re-design launched, Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed on “60 Minutes” talking about the Facebook movie “Social Network” and the new design of our profile pages.

“60 Minutes” also interviewed the infamous Winklevoss twins who sued Zuckerberg for reportedly stealing their idea. Funniest part of that: The Winkesvoss’ admitted they have Facebook accounts!

Anyways, how do you like the new design? Personally, I like it. It shares your photos more effectively and I like the top part that gives snippets of where you work, live and your relationships. You can also show people who your family is and more of who you are and what you like to do. My only complaint is that I wish they would increase the font size again. People out there with bad eyesight like me have a hard time reading such small words!

Is Technology a Shield from Real Life?

Here’s another assignment post that requires me to really share a story and appeal to your senses. I want to make you see, not just hear. I’m tying it in with my theme: technology and human interaction.

Here’s a few fake (perhaps real somewhere else) scenarios (and another silly cartoon!) to prove my point.

A boy spends all day in class in the back corner, never really saying a word and barely finishing homework. He comes home to immediately feel the smooth, familiar buttons of a game controller. He sits in his black reclining chair and glides his fingers over the controls and stares zombie-like at the television screen as characters come to life. His mom asks him how his day is and he blows her off, waving a free hand in the air for a second, before needing it again to shoot a zombie.

A girl is fairly social, but feels constantly surrounded my drama. There are no screaming matches or snotty words, however, that she can hear. She sits by her computer and her cell phone and always takes comments and texts the wrong way. She argues back and forth until her palms begin to shake. Yet, when a friend confronts her face to face or tries to call her, she runs or ignores them all the way back to the safety of a glowing screen.

A boy and a girl are hanging out, chatting in a crowded coffee house in order to get to know each other better. At first it is going well, the girl is smiling brightly and fidgeting nervously and the boy looks confident as he tousles his sandy brown hair a bit. But then, he gets a text message. From who? The girl is afraid to ask and look jealous. But he answers it and again and again and sits there texting, while the girl is now wondering what she did wrong to be so ignored already.

Get the picture? Do you see the scene that I’ve set or have you even seen these played out in real life? Chances are you have seen someone or even yourself do these things. As great as technology is, sometimes it can be a shield for us from real life. Whether you are hiding from something or just grew up in a world where computers were kings and phones were queens and you feel yourself gliding farther and farther away from reality.

Think of it in your life if you’ve been a lover of all things tech. Have you ever gotten into a fight that could have been avoided by talking face to face? Have you ever ignored someone to play games or simply talk to someone else online or on your cell phone? It is easy to do so and not even realize what you’re doing. So play these scenarios and others play out in your head and vow to stop them. Place human interaction above all things technological and you’ll be glad you did.

Another Month, Another Update

Half of my paper = done. For me, the hardest part about writing is starting. I’ll admit, even though I’m not really a procrastinator, I was procrastinating on this article. 3,000 words seems so daunting and I had no idea where to begin. But once I crunched out an outline, I just began writing and adding in quotes from my interviews and the story has come to life.

A few more people are almost done with their week without Facebook and I am anxious to hear how it went. I wonder if this will tell me that they really were addicted or that they didn’t care about being away from this website. I also interviewed a few psychologists and got their opinions.

I can’t wait to get these last interviews and keep writing!

What would you say?

Increase your “Face Time”

“Power down. Log off. Unplug. Have mercy on your thumbs. Browse the World Wide Something Else. Send some not-so-instant-messages. Undo. Hit cancel. Be together.”

This quote is from a Dentyne commercial and you know what, they might be on to something. Their message is trying to urge us to “make face time” in what has become a very online world.

Our generation is as guilty of this as ever before. We are so used to computers and cell phones and TV and instant gratification that it has become a rarity that we hang out with someone. How often do we choose to chat with someone online instead of meeting them somewhere? How deep are those interactions? Are they as valuable?

To be honest, those Dentyne commercials made me feel horrible. I have always felt I am too wired, online too much, attached to my cell phone….but then I look around. I’m not the only one.

So I challenge myself and I challenge you to make tiny steps to become unplugged – at least occasionally. Being Internet savvy will always be important but “making face time” will always be one of the best parts of life. Don’t you think?

Here are some ideas:

• Set some limits
  Set aside certain times of the day to check your e-mail, browse Facebook, or chat on AIM. Set a time limit if you have to; it’s to easy to let several hours slip my as you fall into an internet trance.
• Break Away
  Call someone and ask them to meet somewhere or do something that doesn’t involve technology. While thinking of this one…most things in mind are $$$ involved. Meet for coffee. Take a class.. art, exercise, whatever. You get the idea. Low on cash? Go for a walk. Make your own smoothies. Write something silly together. Dance to your favorite song. The list can go on.
• Do the unthinkable
  Forget sending your faraway friend an e-mail or Facebook message for a day. Send an old fashioned letter instead. Yes, the kind that the real mailman delivers! Send them a care package…anything that CAN’T be sent over the World Wide Web.
• List Alternatives
  Make a list of things to do when you’re bored so you don’t succumb to 3 hours of Facebook stalking. Work out. Do some extra homework. Do a Sudoku puzzle. Read a book. Stare out the window. Do whatever makes you happy that doesn’t involve a keyboard or a reality show.
• Make plans
  Set aside one day a week that you spend with a certain friend. This will ensure you truly do “make face time”. Maybe they can even be your accountability buddy for making sure you don’t stay a slave to the laptop.

Facebook Addiction Update

Two people who have expressed their addiction with Facebook have started a week logging off. I am very curious to hear their thoughts and feelings going through this period of NO Facebook. I have three more people logging off in the near future.

My next ideas for my story is to contact a local psychiatrist. I know most people probably aren’t paying  money to a therapist because they feel they are addicted to Facebook and that the therapist can’t release much information on their patients. But I want to know if anyone is coming to them with this problem and their opinions on Facebook and whether or not they feel it is an addiction.

I’ll also be researching Facebook’s history. I saw the movie “The Social Network” and it was very good and well played. But now to find out what is true and what is movie make believe…

A Technology Q & A with a former college technology professor and his wife who detests computers…

For my blog assignment, I chose to interview my grandparents, who have very different views on technology. My grandfather is a retired computers professor from Davenport University. My grandmother is a mother and grandmother who will not even touch a computer. I wanted to ask both of them some questions about their different views on the subject I’m following.

Q & A with Jerry Lamphere:
1. Why did you eventually decide to become a college professor teaching computers and technology?

I knew even years ago that computers and technology would have such an impact on our lives. I went to school for many years, getting different degrees and teaching was something I always wanted to do. I just kind of fell into teaching computers and found I liked it.

2. What do you think of this generation and its dependency on technology?

It makes me remember the older days when we didn’t have so much technology and how much simpler it was. Now, everyone has a phone, a GPS, a TV, a computer, etc. I think it is good to be updated but not all the time. You still need a break to go out and do things.

3. I am doing a project based on Facebook addiction. I know you have a Facebook but rarely use it. What do you think of it?

Honestly, I am still learning about Facebook. I don’t really understand is so far, but it is an interesting tool to use to keep in touch with people I don’t see that often. I am friends on Facebook with old friends and family from Florida. I still email them more often than talk to them on Facebook, though.

4. Why do you think so many are “addicted” to Facebook?

People are always curious about other people’s lives and Facebook is something that lets you read more about other people, often without them knowing. I think people get addicted to that.

Q & A with Shirley Lamphere:
1. Why do you dislike technology?

I don’t dislike it, persay, I just don’t understand it and don’t care to learn about it.

2. What did you think of your husband teaching technology when you want nothing to do with it?

I never minded him teaching it. I used to type up his papers for him when he was in school and then when he was a professor, sometimes I would help him type up his lectures. I liked being there for him.

3. What do you know about Facebook?

I don’t really know anything about Facebook. Jerry has one but never really uses it. He said he likes to keep in touch with old friends.

4. Why do you think people get “addicted” to it?

I wasn’t really aware people got “addicted”, but I suppose they really like keeping in touch with people.

I’d like to thank my grandparents for talking with me on their different views on the topic I will be writing about all semester. It was interesting to hear how much, yet how little they knew about it.

Facebook Addictions

So I’ve figured out my topic for my semester long feature story. It is definitely something that interests me: Facebook and being “addicted”. I constantly hear people saying they are addicted to Facebook and read things about people spending hours “creeping” on Facebook and it affecting their schoolwork. I want to find out for myself.

So far, I have an outline of things I’d like to talk about. I want to find the “addicted” and the ones who use Facebook but could care less about it. I’ve already found some people for both topics. I want to touch on the recent colleges doing week long outages of social media. I want to go see “The Social Network” movie and take notes and then research the history, number of users, etc.

So far, there are a few magazines I think I would pitch to. I love that this story could have so many angles and could be pitched to tons of magazines. I like the idea to pitch to Wired, a techie magazines in which I found a recent story on the Facebook movie. I also like Psychology Today, because I could go more into the “addiction” and find out if this is real or a fantasy we make up to cover our hours of usage on Facebook every day. I could also angle it more for a woman’s magazine like Cosmopolitan for a wake-up and get off the Facebook piece.

Those are my ideas for now…keep posted to find out what I’m doing next and for more stories about technology and relationships.

“I love my computer…because my friends live in it.”

Hello! Here’s my first post and it comes with a college-esque challenge. I will NOT use “-ing” anywhere in this post. So read on about the subject I’ve chosen to write about this semester and yell if you see one of those pesky “-ing” words!

You’ve all probably seen this goofy cartoon…

I remember when I was a skinny sixth grader when one of my friends asked me if I had AIM.

“What is AIM?”, I asked, confused.

“It is a really cool way to talk to each other on the Internet. Don’t you have AOL?” he shot back.

I didn’t. I didn’t have AOL. But, I would after I bugged my parents to join the technological, new crazy world. I would have AIM and get in trouble countless times, logged onto the Internet while my parents were at work and they couldn’t get call our home phone.

And now, look at me. I have two blogs. I’m on Facebook and Twitter and Linkedin. I have an internship where I deal with their website and social media. Hell, that’s what I decided I want to do when I leave this crazy college world. I want to be a blogger and social media expert to whichever company will have me. I have two online classes. I’m on my MAC laptop more hours than not if I’m bored.

Oh how times have changed. For this blog I want to explore the ways that technology has evolved. I want to explore how technology has changed our relationships and changed ourselves. I want to talk to people who adore computers and technology and this generation and people who loathe it.

My grandmother is one of the people who loathes it. She scoffs every time a computer or the Internet is mentioned. She hates it and prefers crossword puzzles and books in her lap. She claims if she were to even touch the computer mouse it would probably make the computer explode into a billion pieces. What makes this even funnier is that my grandfather was a computer professor for many years. He still enjoys computers and sends me funny chain letters whenever he finds them. I find it of interest that people still detest computers even in this technological world and won’t learn about them. I also find it of interest those people who detest human interaction and prefer only online relationships.

These are the extreme though. I find myself somewhere in the middle. So please follow me as I dig into technology and especially how it has become the norm, the expected, and the worshiped in the last decade. I will form these opinions based on my experiences and assignments that I am assigned for this class. I’ll take you on my journey to write a 3,000 word feature story through the next few months. (The topic is TBD. I’ve selected three and will narrow that down to one. It may have to do with technology and it may not. We’ll see.) I’ll keep you posted.

Lauren