Facebook - by now we've all heard of it - and whether you have a Facebook page or not - you definitely know a few people who do.
Indeed, the social network is re-mapping the way we interact, communicate, connect and socialize. But more than that, it's also causing quite a few to become addicted, lost inside the portal, disappearing down the electronic rabbit hole.
Our intern Robin Schaffer knows about that all too well. She freely confesses that she's a recovering Facebook addict, and to study the phenomenon, she got some of her peers from sixth Form to talk about their Facebook habit.
More than that, she polled 117 students about their Facebook routine to form a rounded, slightly disturbing profile of fb and the modern teenager.
It's Robin's first feature for 7news, and it's a good one - here's what she found out:..
Robin Schaffer reporting
Imagine a world without Facebook. Well, many people can't, and in a survey of 117 SJCJC students - teens and young adults - 93% of participants had a Facebook page.
Indeed, almost everyone seems to have a Facebook page, and it's not just a casual relationship - many users seem to be dependent.
For a long time I was one of them, and as a recovering Facebook addict, I can say first hand that it is one of the easiest things to get sucked into.
We spoke to two students who are aware of their own addiction; they spoke candidly about their dependency on this social network.
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"Basically I am on it 24/7. It's like my baby, my next love. Facebook is like my other life, every day, all day. It's addictive, everybody knows that."
Devon Wagner is not what you would call a recreational user - his is a sleep-deprived Facebook life.
Robin Schaffer
"What's the longest you've gone on at one time? Like your longest Facebook session?"
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"Longest, 5 days straight. No sleep."
Robin Schaffer
"What was that experience like? What kept you so glued to the computer?"
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"There is always something to do. I didn't even know - when I looked up and saw the time I was like 'what date is today?' I didn't eat; I didn't shower. I was just into the groove. It's so addictive sometimes. 5 days straight consecutively." (laughs)
Jasmine Skeen is also immersed in her Facebook life.
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"Every morning I check my Facebook."
Robin Schaffer
"And then you go to school and you check it at school?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"Yes, I usually take my laptop to school, and I check Facebook at school as well, and then when I come home most of the time its non-stop Facebook even if I am not doing anything on it. It right there on."
Robin Schaffer
"What's you longest Facebook session? How long has it gone on at one time?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"Maybe like an entire Saturday or Sunday when I am not doing anything at all."
Robin Schaffer
"You just stay on the computer?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"Stay on Facebook."
She stays on Facebook - clicking endlessly through layers of profiles, updates, pictures, personal quotes - like binging on a buffet of fast food friends - servings and slices of social lives that are plentiful but not filling, quick, but ultimately forgettable:
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"You are interested to know: oh your friend was here, let me see the pictures; oh, what are you doing tomorrow, let me ask you. It's just available and just there."
Robin Schaffer
"Let's say Saturday you spent the whole day on Facebook; on Sunday would you remember the bulk of what you saw and read and talked about?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"Probably not." (laughs)
And Facebook users ride the waves of likes and dislikes, knowing that they are just one click away from electronic abandonment:
Robin Schaffer
"Have you ever felt Facebook abandonment in that - you post something, you tag someone, you comment on someone status, and you go on your Facebook and there are no notifications? How does that make you feel?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"It burns a bit because you know you kinda - like for me when I'm on Facebook and I post something, I want comments, and I want likes. So to not get that it's like kinda disappointing. Sometimes I delete the post if I don't get any likes."
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"It's really depressing; there are no updates on your stuff that you spent so much time updating. You are creating all these phrases that you want the world to actually take a second and look at it. But you know you can't get mad at that right; you just find something else to do."
It's like an electronic red carpet and everybody wants to be a star - and in this world, star power is derived from the number of friends a Facebooker has and how much attention his or her page attracts:
Robin Schaffer
"About how many Facebook friends would you say you have?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"Around 600 and counting. It's not a lot."
Robin Schaffer
"Do you know all of them? Have you met all of them?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"No."
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"In total I have 1,795 still pending. I'm actually suspended from adding people right now. But I still have pending requests. So it's still going. I'm really that famous."
But fame and friendship are fleeting in Facebook - Facebook fights are the stuff of legend - and you're always just one wrong comment away from being un-"friended".
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"You meet good friends actually; companions, you know, who can share your intellectual thoughts. If you are not interesting then I'll just stop talking to you. I ain't got time to waste. I have 1,000 friends!"
And can Facebookers live without the constant contact? 40% of those we polled check their Facebook 2 to 4 times a day, and 30% check it 5 or more times.
Those we interviewed said they check it all the time:
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"I would say about 3-5 hours a day."
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"In the morning, and then about an hour at school, and when I come home, like 5 hours. So about 6 and a half hours or more a day."
33% of those we polled said they would never even consider deleting their profile -and when we asked if they could give up Facebook for a week, only 3 people - less than 3% said they could:
Robin Schaffer
"How long do you think you could go without Facebook?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"Just recently I had to go the whole weekend without Facebook."
Robin Schaffer
"What was it like?"
Jasmine Skeen - Facebook Addict
"I was dying. I actually tried deactivating my Facebook the other day and like it literally took me about 10 minutes, and then I reactivated it. I couldn't take it."
Robin Schaffer
"If you could close your Facebook account today, would you be happy?"
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"Nah, I made a lot of friends on that. It's a social network. That's how you get famous."
Robin Schaffer
"So you couldn't deactivate it today?"
Devon Wagner- Facebook Addict
"No I couldn't, I couldn't live with it. I've got nothing to do."
And so all those Facebook profiles aren't going anywhere - it has gone from a fad to a necessity, to…an obsession? For some it is, and for those who aren't hooked yet - let the user beware.
One more statistic from her poll of 117 students: 77% of respondents have not met all of their Facebook friends.
Robin's next story that she's working on is the text messaging habits of Sixth Formers.
Email
Print