If you feel anxious when you're away from Facebook, get help. You may be addicted.
IT gets into your blood, consuming your thoughts and inducing panic attacks if the next fix is not in sight.
On a good day, it might offer a harmless escape. On a bad, it can turn
into a monstrous distraction, rendering you unable to concentrate on
work or studies.
The drug is Facebook, and if you fear you may be an addict, now is the time to find out.
Researchers tested a scientific scale on 423 students which measures how hooked users are.
They found women are more at risk of addiction because of the social nature of the site.
The Norwegian team found ambitious types are less likely to become addicted as they take advantage of the site for their own purposes, such as networking.
The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale lets users measure their
dependency on the social networking site by answering six questions with
how closely they reflect their behaviour.
Those who answer "often" or "very often" to at least four questions are considered addicted.
The scale is based on the same six core elements of addiction used by doctors to identify alcoholics and drug users, the journal Psychological Reports says.
Lead researcher Dr Cecilie Schou Andreassen, of the University of Bergen's Faculty of Psychology, said:
"We have also found that people who are anxious and socially insecure use Facebook more than those with lower scores on those traits."
Dr Andreassen said: "The use of Facebook has increased rapidly. We are dealing with a subdivision of internet addiction connected to social media."
Researchers tested a scientific scale on 423 students which measures how hooked users are.
They found women are more at risk of addiction because of the social nature of the site.
The Norwegian team found ambitious types are less likely to become addicted as they take advantage of the site for their own purposes, such as networking.
Those who answer "often" or "very often" to at least four questions are considered addicted.
The scale is based on the same six core elements of addiction used by doctors to identify alcoholics and drug users, the journal Psychological Reports says.
Lead researcher Dr Cecilie Schou Andreassen, of the University of Bergen's Faculty of Psychology, said:
"We have also found that people who are anxious and socially insecure use Facebook more than those with lower scores on those traits."
Dr Andreassen said: "The use of Facebook has increased rapidly. We are dealing with a subdivision of internet addiction connected to social media."
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