Facebook-is-a-drug

I’ve become a bit of a Facebook druggie lately. Who is a ‘Facebook druggie’? Well, if you check up on Facebook every half an hour (which sometimes involves taking your phone to the bathroom), if you love it when people like your status updates, photos etc. and if you have this habit of feeling overly disappointed when seeing photos of people having fun on Facebook then, my friend, you are an addict and you need help.

Read the full article after the break!

Note: This post has been lifted from my journal. I was, in fact, acting like a depressed teen in the summer of 2010 when I used to sit online on Facebook all day, looking for ways to get more and more people to comment and like my stuff. I used to feel all beychayn when people didn’t like the stuff I shared, which, you may have guessed, isn’t a very healthy sign.

A Serious Problem

This is actually a pretty serious problem among today’s teens. I may sound like an overly-possessive mother saying this, but it has been proven that “overdosing on the Facebook Drug” leads to serious psychological effects which can only be shaken off by you yourself.

I wrote an article for Redmond Pie a few weeks back where I talked about this study conducted by this Dr. Rosen chap at California State University wherein they researched on some of the harmful effects of social networks on teenagers and young adults.

It was found that people who check Facebook regularly (down to visiting the service every 15 minutes) end up developing psychological disorders like anxiety, depression and narcissism.

I’m not making this shit up. It’s becoming a common phenomenon because of Facebook’s increasing popularity. As of writing, there are over 700 million people actively using Facebook.

The anxiety and depression reportedly comes from seeing all those photos of Bilal and Ayesha (everyone has an Ayesha and a Bilal on their friends list) checking in to hotel resorts in Nepal, uploading photos of them skiing down snowy slopes up in Switzerland while you sit at home in your mom’s basement refreshing The Sarri-alist Movement‘s wall till 3 in the morning after which you proceed to crying yourself to sleep, depressed for not having a life.

You’re not the only one who gets affected, by the way. Bilal and Ayesha themselves become chronic narcissists which, in turn, leads to a whole bunch of other problems.

the real version vs. facebook version

I can assure you that this sort of stuff where people develop depression, narcissism etc. from Facebook actually happens. But don’t worry, because the fact is (and I learned this rather late) that people create this cool image of themselves on Facebook while in real life, they are nowhere near how they appear on Facebook.

Mid-Teenage Crisis

My mid-teenage crisis, thanfully, was just a phase. Now I’ve learned how to, well, not give a shit and be content and happy with who I am. That’s how you should be too. You’re the most awesome person in the world, and dude/chicks (depending on a certain reproductive organ you may or may not have attached) dig you.

I just stood up (or really just sat down) one day and decided to limit myself to only 3 visits to the social network per day without Facebook mobile access as well as ensuring only those things are shared which I felt I absolutely needed to. It worked like a charm.

If you liked this post, be sure to leave a comment below! We look forward to your thoughts on how undisciplined use of social networks affect you or the people around you.

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