It gets into your blood, consuming your thoughts and inducing panic attacks if the next fix is not in sight.
On a good day, it might offer a harmless escape from the troubles of the world.
But on a bad, it can turn into a monstrous distraction, rendering you unable to concentrate on work or studies.
The drug is Facebook, and if you fear you may be an addict, now is the time to find out.
Up to 85% of Facebook users log in daily - but the simple
six point scale should root out those who use the site healthily from those who
are dangerously hooked
Researchers tested a scientific scale on 423 students which measures how hooked users are.
They found women are more at risk of addiction because of the social nature of the site.
The Norwegian team found ambitious types are less likely to become addicted as they take advantage of the site for their own purposes, such as work and networking.
The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale lets users measure their dependency on the social networking site by answering six basic questions with how closely they reflect their behaviour.
Those who answer ‘often’ or ‘very often’ to at least four of the questions are considered addicted.
The scale is based on the same six core elements of addiction used by doctors to identify alcoholics and drug users, the journal Psychological Reports said.
Lead researcher Dr Cecilie Schou Andreassen, of the University of Bergen’s Faculty of Psychology, said addiction is more common among younger users.
‘We have also found that people who are anxious and socially insecure use Facebook more than those with lower scores on those traits,’ she added.
She said this could be because anxious people find it easier to communicate through social media than face to face.
And users who are late to go to bed and get up are more likely to be addicted as those with a ‘delayed sleep wake rhythm’ scored highly, she said.
Billionaire Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: But for some
users, the site can be a problem akin to drink or drug addiction
'We are dealing with a subdivision of internet addiction connected to social media.’some users, Facebook can be as addictive as any drug - and now scientists have designed a simple test to root out addicts from ordinary users.
Occasionally doing this, for instance to try and encourage replies from business contacts, is fine. But a constant need to do this could border on addiction.
The results from the student volunteers suggested Facebook addiction was more common among younger adults and women rather than men.
It was more prevalent among those who are 'anxious and socially insecure' as they are often too introverted to speak in person but happy to maintain an online contact.
Dailymail Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
Romans 5:5 says, Hope maketh not ashamed.
ReplyDeleteFellow Nigerians lets not give up our hope that God is well able to make Nigeria be the best of country in the world. There is a reason why we are Nigerians. Hope lost, implies loss of faith in God to change Nigeria / Nigerians, loss of courage to pray to God, loss of morals for immoral acts, loss of normalcy for abnormality, etc the least is endless.
Isaiah 3:10 says ‘it is WELL with the righteous’. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
Nigeria will survive and gain back ALL her loss glory, in Jesus name, amen.
Satan the devil is our common enemy. Let’s get rid of his manipulation and be in the liberty that Jesus proffered!
Thanks