How to Overcome Your Facebook Addiction

Do you find yourself checking Facebook or Myspace five, ten, twenty times daily? Do you ignore calls and avoid visits from your family and friends in favor of keeping tabs on status updates? If so, you may have an addiction to Facebook, but don't worry. Here are some tips for keeping social media time in check.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Willpower

1. Assess your addiction. Socializing online can be addicting - but if you're doing it to the exclusion of face-to-face time in your important relationships, it could be a problem. If you answer yes to these questions, you may need a Facebook intervention:
   
   * Do you lose time at work due to Facebook abuse?
   * Does your spouse or significant other complain about the amount of time you spend on Facebook?
   * Do you use Facebook because you feel shy with people?
   * Do you feel out of control of your time when using Facebook?
   * Does using Facebook decrease your overall ambition?
   * Do you have to check Facebook a certain number of times daily?
   
   Keep reading for more on overcoming your addiction to social media.

2. Change your Facebook routines. If updating your status is the first thing you do in the morning, leading to all-day Facebook binges, substitute another activity. Grab a latte at a nearby coffee shop or hit the gym in the AM instead. Instead of settling in with some wine to contribute to your friend's Lil Green Patch, pick up a movie to watch instead.

3. Spend less time alone. The idea behind social media is to feed our desire for being social - so don't subvert that need by only interacting via the computer. Log off, call some friends, and set up an adult play date that involves face-to-face interaction.

4. Change your home page and remove Facebook from your bookmarks. If you're addicted to Facebook, chances are this social media site pops up the minute you open your browser. How could you not take a peek to see if your high school boyfriend accepted your friend request? Give yourself a break; change your home page.

5. Write a book, start a blog, or pen a song. Part of the appeal of social media is its ability to allow us instant personal expression. Instead of spending hours on a 25 Things survey, find another way to express yourself. Taking a writing class, signing up for guitar lessons, or perfecting your comedy routine will get your creative juices flowing - and give you an offline audience and real social interaction.

Tips & Warnings

• R u addicted? Take quizzes from the Center for Online Addiction at http://www.netaddiction.com/resources/iaindex.htm.
• If your Facebook addiction is interfering with your life significantly, you may benefit from professional help. The American Psychological Association offers a "Find a Psychologist" locator at http://locator.apa.org.

Resources

• Help for your addiction

[deepthinkin]

on 7/7/2009 lol! I know a few folks who fit this description! Thanks!

[Wasatch]

on 3/2/2009 Good tips. We have a lot of modern electronic addictions like texting and social networking sites that often diminish the quality of living life fully just by being time wasters.