Facebook addiction
From Drug Rehab Wiki
The advent of social media has created a new brand of psychological issues being addressed daily in therapy sessions around the world. Social media such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have given us access to thousands of people at any time of the day or night. ‘Cyber-relationships’ can be had with people we never meet but who can easily become significant parts of our daily lives. Home computers, office computers and portable devices such as laptops and cellphones with Internet access accompany many of us throughout our day. With easy access to this technology we have easy and frequent access to our cyber-relationships and to the complications they bring us. These cyber-relationships can dramatically impact the relationships we have in our ‘real’ daily life and distort our perceptions of intimacy and relationship building.
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Psuedo-Intimacy
Social media forums create a sense of intimacy with others participating on the same site. We grow comfortable with these other members as their images, names and communications are viewed daily, perhaps several times a day. Over a period of time, recognition of the on-screen persona leads us to feel that we know others on the site, have things in common and have a meaningful exchange with them. We also begin to feel that other site members are doing the same: that they are getting to know us and feel comfortable with us, like us. We liken this social media exposure to experiences we have in real life in which we slowly and progressively get to know someone and build relationships and intimacy over a period of time.
Social media sites, and the cyber-relationships formed in them, create ideal conditions for projection and fantasy and the confusion of what is real vs. what seems to be real about the personalities, intentions and values of others. Individuals who have difficultly managing the anxieties of in person social interaction and increasingly intimacy in those relationships often feel more confident and less inhibited when cultivating relationships via the Internet. Online exchanges help mediate insecurities about social skills, one’s appearance, one’s social and financial status and other concerns involved in dating and becoming more intimate.
Cyber-dating
One of the issues that arises for some users of social media sites is the creation of special online relationships that have romantic and/or sexual dynamics or ‘cyber-dating’. This occurs when individuals begin to look for particular site members, focus their attentions on that other member and begin to arrange times online to interact.
There are a number of inherently problematic issues caused by these types of relationships. For example, cyber-dating creates the illusion of meaningful and growing intimacy as online exchanges progress. There is a sense of increasing comfort and emotional and psychological safety as more intimate discussions of feelings and hopes and dreams about the relationship occur. Feelings and discussions that include sexuality further increase and complicate this dynamic.
These types of ‘intimacy’ are achieved, however, without the usual immersion in shared daily routines, the sharing of physical space and the ability to see, touch and hear another or observe the other in variety of life situations. The ability to write a good script of dialogue to another at the keyboard that demonstrates interest, support and caring, for example, becomes confused with true interest, support and caring. Unfortunately, the ability to communicate these things via online dialogues does not mean that one has the ability to behave in these ways in person or even has the inclination to do so in the course of one-to-one daily interactions in real life.
The ease of presenting the illusion of positive and well-intended qualities in online dialogue is useful to those who want to engage others through intentional deceptions, duplicity and predatory behavior. Apart from a premeditated ruse, however, is the inherent discrepancy between what occurs at a keyboard when facing a computer monitor vs. what naturally occurs in the presence of another person. Individuals who earnestly desire a healthy relationship may cultivate one online and have unresolved intimacy problems that create significant problems in person. Persons with abuse and neglect trauma histories for example, may find actual daily real life relationships particularly stressful over the course of time. In domestic violence, for example, battering occurs as real life intimacy increases.
Sexual Compulsivity
The use of the Internet to practice sexually compulsive and sexually illegal behaviors has escalated due to the inherent anonymity of computer use which offers a ‘safe harbor’ in which to do them. While many sexually compulsive behaviors are not illegal, they are characterized by the potential for notably negative consequences for both parties involved. Compulsive behavior is that which continues despite negative consequences and leads to some unmanageability in one’s life. Many who engage in sexualized and compulsive behavior on social media sites are cultivating and progressing in a sexual addiction which significantly impacts their lives away from their use of technology.
Contrived Personalities
Social media sites and the Internet in general allow one to fabricate or dramatically alter information about one’s self. Some use ‘contrived personality’ profiles carefully creating and controlling what images and information about themselves are presented for others to see. The information may be completely fabricated for purposes of predatory deception or may be to some degree an unconscious manipulation to compensate for insecurities and a poor self-image.
Social media sites allow posting of photos and these can be manipulated through photo imaging software to edit one’s perceived flaws from the images, for example, further reinforcing the fantasy of who one wants to be. More elaborately contrived personality profiles can be created through the posting of images to represent one’s surroundings, possessions and activities as desirable and of a higher financial or social status than they actually are.
The disingenuous nature of these types of profile manipulation may seem recreational and harmless initially. With the development of online relationships based upon these, however, complications can arise in one’s own self-concept and the felt need to continue to ‘role-play’ even when others do not understand it is role-play that is occurring. If online relationships advance to feelings of wanting to have an in-person relationship, issues of deception and misrepresentation will have to be confronted. Internally, individuals who practice these types of profile manipulations can begin to have their own psychological and emotional consequences such as reliance upon fantasy to feel good about themselves and deception to have intimacy.
Issues of Infidelity
Compulsivity related to online relationships can be time-consuming and attention-consuming. Compulsive social activity, flirting, romantic preoccupations, monitoring of others and sexually compulsive behavior are some interpersonal dynamics that can arise on social media sites. Along with the amount of time and attention taken from one’s usual life, issues of fidelity and infidelity to one’s actual relationships and commitments are involved when relationships are built and compulsively cultivated in cyberspace. Some rationalize that infidelity cannot occur if the affair remains ‘virtual’ and no meeting occurs. The dynamics of becoming emotionally less available to one’s partner and ‘cheating on’ one’s partner, however, are similar in both cyber-affairs and ‘real-life’ affairs. Secrecy, for example, occurs in both online and ‘offline’ infidelities. Partners feel betrayed and abandoned in both situations. The intimacy with one’s partner is significantly compromised in both, sometimes leading to breakup’s or divorce and those who ‘cheat’ online must cope with guilt and shame as those who do so in other types of infidelities.
Clinical Issues
Some who spend a great deal of time on social media sites develop clinically significant issues that involve their psychological, emotional and social lives. Others will compromise their occupational and financial health by using sites during work time when employers strictly forbid such use. Continued use despite such negative consequences is often considered an addiction with the problems usually associated with other addictive behaviors such as substance use, problematic eating or sexual compulsivity. These types of issues may need therapeutic support to resolve and some may also need assistance in reducing or eliminating their dependence upon social sites.
FAS and FAD
Abstinence from social site use may create discomfort and distress for those who have become dependent upon them and some may find that despite significant negative consequences, they remain preoccupied with social sites and continue to use them. Counseling can help resolve these issues. Similarly, issues of infidelity and other problems in relationships caused by social site use may require professional couples or family counseling. Some clinicians have recognized the extent of such social site compulsivity as a disorder in itself. These types of clinical problems are referred to in some circles as Facebook Addiction Syndrome (FAS) or Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD). While Facebook appears to be the most used social media site at approximately 350, 000, 000 users worldwide, other sites such as MySpace and Twitter are also generally included in discussions of FAS and FAD. The behaviors, dynamics and negative consequences of compulsive use are considered similar among them all.
Ironically, there are ‘support groups’ on Facebook that describe themselves as compulsive site users providing support for each other. It is generally thought that such groups further reinforce the use of the site and are of very little therapeutic value. Support groups for compulsive online use should be sought offline. Providers who treat other compulsive disorders can offer assistance or assess needs and make appropriate referrals for help.
Recent Study
A study by two Gordon College faculty members, Bryan C. Auday, professor of psychology, and Sybil Coleman, professor of social work, found that one in three students say they are spending 1-2 hours a day on the Facebook site. Another 12 percent report using 2-4 hours a day; and 2.8 percent report usage of 4-7 hours per day.
“We’d received enough anecdotal evidence from college students to raise some red flags about these issues,” said Coleman. “But we felt it was crucial to gather scientific data from students about both the benefits and concerns (of usage) if we were going to get a clearer picture about how we could best respond.”
The online study was conducted in April of 2009 and included 1,342 students between the ages of 18 and 27 on four evangelical Christian college campuses with an equal class representation. Of the participants, 70 percent were women. Survey questions included amount of time spent, the primary reason for using a site, the impact on life and relationships, the ability to stop and possible conflict with values.
More than half, or 54 percent, reported that they were neglecting important areas of their life as a result of spending too much time on these sites. For those admitting they might have a problem, 12.7 percent affirmed they believed they were addicted and 8.7 percent were unsure.
