To Deal With Obsession, Some Defriend Facebook. Too Much of a Good Thing? – Compulsive Social Networking « Thoug. Humans, like many species, are highly social creatures. The process of natural selection has instilled in us a drive to connect with other people. Those ancestors that were well connnected got support from their community and prospered, allowing them to pass on their gregariousness down to their offspring. With the advent of modern communication technology we’ve developed more and more effective ways to ‘scratch the itch’ to connect with others at greater speeds and distances.
Social networks like Facebook and Twitter are the latest in the line of personal connectivity technology. While these services can provide much value by allowing people to link with friends, ideas and events in new ways, they are not without a dark side. This New York Times article, “Driven to Distraction, Some Teenagers Unfriend Facebook” documents some of the troubles teenagers are having with Facebook addiction, and managing their compulsion to connect with their social network.
So the big question seems to be: What Facebook Users Share: Lower Grades. Forget the widely unloved redesign. Facebook has committed a greater offense. According to a new study by doctoral candidate Aryn Karpinski of Ohio State University and her co-author Adam Duberstein of Ohio Dominican University, college students who use the 200 million–member social network have significantly lower grade-point averages (GPAs) than those who do not. The study, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association on April 16, surveyed 219 undergraduate and graduate students and found that GPAs of Facebook users typically ranged a full grade point lower than those of nonusers — 3.0 to 3.5 for users versus 3.5 to 4.0 for their non-networking peers.
It also found that 79% of Facebook members did not believe there was any link between their GPA and their networking habits. Karpinski and Duberstein's study isn't the first to associate Facebook with diminished mental abilities. See TIME's Pictures of the Week. Managing Your Social Network Addiction - Stepcase Lifehack. Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, Friendster, Tumblr, Xanga… the list goes on and on.
And if you are any sort of tech savy, there is good chance you are a member of multiple social networks. Even I have accounts with at least 5 of these. While there is a lot to be gained by using these services, there is also a lot to be lost. In case you hadn’t heard, Facebook users share not only a social network of over 200 million, but also significantly lower grade point averages (GPAs) than their non-member classmates (according to Time Magazine). And apparently Jennifer Aniston ended her relationship with John Mayer because he was addicted to Twitter (as apposed to drugs like other musicians… ). This begs the question, how many of us are addicted to social networks, and what can we do about it? You may think, “I’m not addicted, I can quit anytime!” Obviously the first step in your rehabilitation is to admit there is a problem.
It’s time to take back your free time. Fishville: The Most Hardcore Game of 2009 - Web Games feature - My wife isn't the biggest gamer. She plays Tetris, Peggle, and the occasional round of 1 vs. 100. Beyond that, she doesn't care much about gaming and doesn't really understand why I do. And that's fine, because I don't understand why she reads books about female doctors who travel through time. I also don't get why she's so addicted to FishVille, a Facebook game by Zynga, the developer responsible for such social media spambots as Mafia Wars, Vampires, YoVille!
, and FarmVille. According to its official description on Facebook, FishVille is "an addictive game where you raise cute baby fish, feed them as they grow and decorate your fish tanks with friends! " Because that description gives no indication that the fish will ever explode or wield two-handed swords, I would normally never have clicked on FishVille. But FishVille had so invaded my household over the past few weeks that I could no longer ignore it. Me: So what's with FishVille, anyway?
Her: Oh, so it's really cool. So, wait.