Suddnely you are glued to your computer monitor and the only thing on the screen is Facebook. WikiHow suggests a 6-step solution:
1. Admit you have a problem - This sounds like the first step to any other addiction. WikiHow suggests that you ask yourself “What did I just accomplish by checking Facebook?” Ha! If only I had that much self-control over my Facebook addiction. Well, at least I admit to it!
2. Define your goals on Facebook - Hmm … I never really had any goals with Facebook. Although maybe my goal should be to reach 5,000 friends. That surely would get me to login more frequently. WikiHow suggests just logging in to check on friends’ birthdays, keep track of old friends, etc. Once you catch yourself going off track, log off. If only it was that easy!
3. Make a Facebook Schedule - Seriously? If you find yourself scheduling Facebook into your daily schedule, this should be a serious warning sign. WikiHow suggests that “after each Facebook goal, write down how much time and at what frequency you’ll need to be on Facebook to achieve that goal.” Are they serious? Based on the calculations they suggested, you end up using Facebook for 6 hours and 20 minutes a week. I think this is still a relatively significant amount of time, although I spend much more time on the site.
4. Think of other things you could be doing - Duh! This is a no brainer. I could be at the gym, socializing in the real world or a million other things but there is a reason I logged on in the first place. I’m starting to think that these suggestions are totally useless!
5. Leave Facebook - This should have been number one! If you are spending way too much time on Facebook, quit cold turkey. It’s like having your cell phone turned off for 24 hours. Once you do it, you will realize how dependent you have become and think twice about your usage.
6. Find a substitute - This one is good. Facebook taking up too much time? Find another site that isn’t as good! WikiHow says “if you find you’re at a computer during critical relapse time, find another website to log onto and read instead of Facebook.” Facebook relapse? This is a little crazy.
So how much time do you spend on Facebook? Has Facebook become an addiction for you?
