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. 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.